North Korea's Kim visits typhoon-hit farmlands amid food shortage concerns

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and North Korea's Premier Kim Tok Hun tour typhoon-affected farms in Anbyon County, North Korea, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 17, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected typhoon-hit farmlands, state media said on Friday, after tropical storm Khanun swept over the Korean Peninsula last week amid mounting concerns over a food crisis in the reclusive country.

Kim praised the military's efforts to salvage crops and said the troops were mobilised because they cannot lose a patch of farmland "to the natural rampage on the agricultural front directly related with the people's living," news agency KCNA reported.