Flooding and landslides due to monsoon rains have ravaged large parts of North Korea in recent weeks, destroying thousands of homes, displacing countless people and even wiping out an entire village.

But while the country is no stranger to natural disasters, the government has repeatedly proven unable or unwilling to invest in infrastructure, and Kim Jong Un has appeared eager to divert attention from that fact.

The DPRK leader was quick to lay the blame elsewhere, saying that the damage is not a result of natural disasters but the “irresponsibility” and “lack of discipline” among officials.

State propaganda has even