N. Korea leader unhappy with weather forecasts
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The reading
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is unhappy with the weather forecasts in his country. He was angry with the meteorological department for giving "incorrect" forecasts. It is very unusual for a North Korean leader to be negative about any part of the government. Mr Kim was visiting one of his country's weather stations when he made the comments. He said the techniques used to predict the weather were wrong. He told forecasters to use more modern equipment. He told reporters it was important to protect people's lives, homes and factories. North Korea has many natural disasters and has many famines, so it is necessary to have accurate weather forecasts.
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North Korean people regularly suffer from very bad food shortages. There are many droughts and floods, which means many people do not have enough food to eat. In May, the country's newspapers said North Korea was hit by one of the worst droughts in over 30 years. This has increased the chances of more food shortages. In the mid-1990s there was a very bad famine. Wikipedia says no one knows how many people died of starvation but says the number is between 240,000 and 3,500,000. North Korea needs a lot of food aid from other countries. Many people would die if they did not get this help. However, a lot of this food does not reach the people who need it the most.
Sources:
- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/12/kim-jong-weather-north-korea
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine
- http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1530793/kim-jong-un-blasts-n-korea-weather-service-incorrect-forecasts
