Updated at 9:10 a.m. KST.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a small village completely rebuilt in recent months after supposedly suffering flood damage, state media reported on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

But while the report implied the reconstruction of Kangbuk-ri in Kumchon County, North Hwanghae Province, was part of a major campaign started after widespread flooding in early August, satellite imagery reveals this particular project was started in early June, before the most recent spate of flooding.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), “Kangbuk-ri had been greatly damaged by the recent heavy rain and strong wind,” and its reconstruction was called “the first report of victory to the Party Central Committee in the campaigns for recovery from disaster.”

Again implying Kim Jong Un acted fast to respond to the heavy rains since August, the report said he “immediately issued a militant order to the units of the People’s Army to remove all the buildings in the ri seat and build them new so as to facelift the ri.”

Kim reportedly expressed satisfaction with the reconstruction efforts undertaken by the Korean People’s Army (KPA), saying it had “been long since he felt so relieved” and that he was “very happy to feel relieved of worries.”

North Korea saw the heaviest rains on record in some parts of the country in August, followed by three typhoons in quick succession which caused further damages nationwide.

Kumchon County was also reported in early August to have seen nearly 200 millimeters (7.8 inches) of rain in a single day, meaning it was likely also affected by the most recent rains.

But if Kangbuk-ri saw any damage in those storms, it would have been to the new buildings which Kim inspected this week.

According to Planet Labs daily medium-resolution satellite imagery (shown below), the village of Kangbuk-ri was demolished in the first week of June, while around 60 new small homes and other new buildings were already taking shape by early July.

Roofing began to be installed across the village between Sept. 4 and Sept. 8, the imagery shows, as Kim Jong Un’s inspection neared.

But Tuesday’s KCNA report also implied weather damage in the village in Kumchon County existed before the most recent storms as well, saying that “some dwelling houses and public buildings had been in critical conditions due to exposure to natural disaster every year on top of lack of repairing.”

Notably, the main town of Kumchon suffered some of the most extreme effects of heavy rains in August 2018, which caused dozens of deaths in flooding and landslides, and may have also affected Kangbuk-ri.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported months later that people in the area remained “highly vulnerable” to winter conditions without properly repaired homes, and satellite imagery only showed limited new home reconstruction following the storm.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un repeated once again his latest visit to the new homes in Kangbuk-ri that more rural areas should be modernized.

He reportedly said it is “imperative to set up the long-term goal of construction in provinces, rural construction in particular, in a more realistic and planned way.”

“What is urgent is to make in-depth study of an immediate task at present and long-term goal of our Party for accomplishing at an early date the far-reaching programmes for socialist rural construction advanced by President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il,” Kim reportedly added, clarifying that the Eighth Congress in Jan. 2021 will address “this crucial issue.”

Almost all of Kim’s top officials joined him for the inspection, reported in KCNA to include Choe Ryong Hae, Pak Pong Ju, Kim Jae Ryong, Pak Jong Chon, Ri Il Hwan, Jo Yong Won, Kim Yong Su, Pak Thae Song and Hyon Song Wol.

Another top official, Kim Tok Hun, was pictured inspecting flood and typhoon-related projects on the east coast in another KCNA report on Sept. 15.

And while reconstruction in Kumchon County was not part of a campaign which kicked off to address flooding and typhoon damage nationwide since early August, Kim Jong Un’s previous appearances in state media in recent weeks have all dealt with more current projects.

On Sept. 12, he revisited Unpha County to inspect new villages under construction, after having inspected damages in early August soon after major flooding there.

Kim also held a meeting this month on major damages in a rural mining valley in the northern region of the country, and traveled to the northeast to inspect typhoon damages, demanding the mobilization of elite party members living in Pyongyang to contribute to reconstruction efforts.

The DPRK leader set a deadline of Oct. 10 — the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers’ Party of Korea — for reconstruction in Unpha and elsewhere related to the August flooding. This means a much larger volume of projects will need to be completed within a period of around 60 days, or around a month shorter than the time in which Kangbuk-ri was demolished and rebuilt.

The deadline for the most recent typhoon-related rebuilding was set for the Jan. 2021 party congress.