North Korea Offers Rare Apology: States Deadly Apartment Building Collapse Caused by Irresponsible Officials
North Korea has apologized for a deadly apartment building collapse caused by "irresponsible officials." According to KCNA, hundreds could be dead after an apartment building collapsed in Pyongyang last week.
Though a rare apology was stated by North Korea, the KCNA's statements remain vague about exactly how many people were affected by the accident and whether they were killed or only injured.
"The construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner," said the statement from KCNA, which also said the collapse of the apartment building "claimed casualties" but did not state a specific number of people who were killed or injured.
The collapse happened while the building was mid-construction. It's said to be common for North Korean families to move into buildings mid-construction.
The apology was released while South Korean President Park Geun-Hye's administration faces criticism for the way a ferry accident that killed 300 people was handled, which brings to question North Korea's intent behind the apology.
An official from South Korea's unification ministry, who asked to remain unidentified, confirmed on Sunday that the apartment building that collapsed on Tuesday in Pyongyang was a 23-story building, which means the building was most likely occupied by about 92 households or families.
"Hundreds are presumed to be dead, assuming that each family has an average of four members," the unidentified official said.
Although it's unclear exactly what measures were taken by North Korean officials to handle the horrifying disaster, the KCNA statement vaguely stated that authorities put emergency measures into place to rescue people from the collapsed building and to treat the injured.
The official apology came from Workers' Party of Korea officials who apologized to bereaved families and district residents. Choe Pu-il, the minister of the people's security, held himself and his agency responsible, stating that this was an "unpardonable crime."
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