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Wong Maye-E/AP/Press Association Images

North Korea's Kim censures weather service for 'incorrect' forecasts

He said that accurate forecasts are needed to protect the “lives and properties” of people from disasters.

NORTH KOREAN LEADER Kim Jong-Un has censured his country’s weather service for “incorrect” forecasts in a rare public dressing down of a government body in the reclusive nation, which suffers regular natural disasters.

Kim criticised the science used in observations and called for the use of modern equipment in the unusual rebuke, which came during an inspection of the Hydro-meteorological Service.

“There are many incorrect forecasts as the meteorological observation has not been put on a modern and scientific basis,” Kim said, urging the agency to “fundamentally” improve its work and equipment.

He said that accurate forecasts are needed to protect the “lives and properties” of people from disasters caused by “abnormal climatic phenomenon”.

Calling the weather service “very important work directly affecting the overall economic affairs”, Kim also underscored the need to “modernise meteorological observation equipment at a high level”.

It was not clear when Kim visited the agency but public criticism of government officials during field trips by North Korean leaders is extremely rare.

Undated pictures released by news agency KCNA showed Kim giving “field guidance” inside the weather service in the capital, some of his audience standing attentively with arms by the side.

North Korea has suffered regular chronic food shortages under the ruling Kim dynasty, with the situation exacerbated by floods, droughts and mismanagement.

In May, state media reported that North Korea was hit by its worst spring drought in more than three decades, threatening thousands of acres of staple crops.

During a famine in the mid to late-1990s, hundreds of thousands died.

 © AFP, 2014

Read: Kim Jong-Un was ‘up all night’ worrying about apartment block collapse>

Read: Belgrade braced for massive “flooding wave” as disaster death toll tops 44>

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    Mute Saul Cusack
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    May 26th 2017, 9:24 PM

    Lovely photo of Donald and Melania holding hands, she’s arguably the most glamourous First Lady ever to grace the White House.

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    Mute vNblxOSQ
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    May 26th 2017, 9:31 PM

    @Saul Cusack: or the most made up. Looks like paddy the plasterer did a job on her

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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    May 26th 2017, 9:34 PM

    @Saul Cusack: And also the most unhappy looking one….

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    Mute Saul Cusack
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    May 26th 2017, 9:36 PM

    @Kerry Blake:
    I think that mantle still belongs to Jackie worn down from her philandering husband.

    35
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    Mute John003
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    May 26th 2017, 9:38 PM

    Sort of ironic banning Russia from the meeting and having the fight against Jihad and IS as top of agenda…..Russia is fighting against Sunni Jihad and IS in Syria for several years….

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    Mute Stephen murphy
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    May 26th 2017, 9:52 PM

    @Saul Cusack: Yeah, a real classy lady and a respectable career behind her.

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    Mute DaisyChainsaw
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    May 26th 2017, 11:51 PM

    @Saul Cusack: Tom/Tommy/Cal/Daniel/Jack Cassady/Saul! Jaysus, have you had to set up yet another fake FB profile again?

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    Mute Philip Gerard
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    May 27th 2017, 4:31 AM

    @Saul Cusack: She’s a tramp.

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    Mute Philip Gerard
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    May 27th 2017, 4:31 AM

    @DaisyChainsaw: Don’t forget “Alex”.

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    Mute WilhelminaMCallaghan
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    May 27th 2017, 5:48 AM

    @Stephen murphy: Jackie had class and was a very intelligent woman a great editor . Melania always look like she don’t want to be there and all she has to do is outlive Trump .

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    Mute Peter Martin
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    May 27th 2017, 6:42 AM

    @Saul Cusack: Yeah! She doesn’t live in the White House, by the way. She swatted away his hand on at least two occasions during this trip but now, she is obviously reluctantly holding his sweaty little paw for the cameras. Just look at the expression on her face ?

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    Mute Joseph Molloy
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    May 27th 2017, 7:20 AM

    @Saul Cusack: don’t agree, Michelle Obama beats her any day. She wasn’t kept woman like Melinda is

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    Mute Leo Massey
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    May 26th 2017, 10:51 PM

    The irony of G7 members trying to encourage social media companies to ‘crack down’ on radical Islamist content while selling arms and supporting the biggest single promoter of radical Islam….Saudi Arabia.

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    Mute An_Beal_Bocht
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    May 27th 2017, 8:18 AM

    @Leo Massey: Appropos nothing, but how are Italy a G7 country, parts of that country veer between the second and third worlds

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    Mute Matty Kineven
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    May 26th 2017, 9:38 PM

    Where’s a firing squad when you need one…

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    Mute Saul Cusack
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    May 26th 2017, 10:00 PM

    @Matty Kineven:
    I hear there’s a slot open on LBC radio currently.

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    Mute WilhelminaMCallaghan
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    May 27th 2017, 5:50 AM

    @Matty Kineven: a leave the Canadian one off he is intelligent and we wish the day we had someone like that here if only

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    Mute Matty Kineven
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    May 27th 2017, 10:09 AM

    @WilhelminaMCallaghan: You must be joking….

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    Mute Chris Avison
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    May 26th 2017, 9:45 PM

    That’s a lovely Mediterranean Sea view in the second photo! How much does “The Journal” spend on stock photos? Why does every paragraph (sentence even) have to be illustrated with a graphic image? A photo of a human brain might assist us in reading the minds of the “journalists” on “The Journal”?

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    Mute John Fergus
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    May 27th 2017, 12:32 AM

    Whatever you think of Trump aside he has a point on here. German manufacture exporters have benefited massively from the Euro. The basket currency is very undervalued. If the Deutsche Mark was back tomorrow it would be at least twice as valuable as the Euro. German exports would become a lot more expensive and would greatly fall.
    Why do you think the Germans are happy to plough billions into keeping the Euro going.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    May 27th 2017, 9:52 AM

    @John Fergus: That is true but if has also benefitted French, Spanish and Italian car manufacturers so it isn’t all about Germany is it. The fact is that Britain has priced themselves out of the market and has lost its competitive manufacturing edge dueto the greed of financial market traders.

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    Mute iMoan Brutal
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    May 26th 2017, 9:46 PM

    drop the whole “climate change” shenanigans and instead fight pollution.. he cant debate out of that one

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    Mute Gerald Kelleher
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    May 26th 2017, 10:11 PM

    @iMoan Brutal: Good sentiment but I am afraid academic politics have already rigged the issue by literally destroying how planetary climate is defined or determined. The only avenue out of the mess is to expand climate to cover all planets in the solar system, discover the common traits which define climate instead of trying to squeeze climate into conditions of a common greenhouse and imagine humans have control of planetary temperatures via petrol pumps.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    May 27th 2017, 8:40 AM

    oh Jesus, you’ve set him off again!!!

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    Mute Jackson Bollovks
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    May 27th 2017, 1:25 AM

    Should have sent Bertie in his canary pants

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    Mute Hazel Williams
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    May 27th 2017, 8:07 AM

    What does the G7 ever achieve?
    Except lovely dinners and a few days in a good hotel???
    Waste of time.

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    May 26th 2017, 11:43 PM

    That photo better not be too symbolic. Two EU flags cracking open the world order at the flanks.

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    Mute Rockhopper617
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    May 27th 2017, 1:08 AM

    Thor was the supreme commander of the asguard fleet.

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