North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely reprimanded his premier and other senior officials over their “irresponsible” response after recent flooding that inundated farmlands the country, state media reported. Floods in North Korea caused serious damage to the country’s agricultural sector due to poor drainage and deforestation, Associated Press reported.

Kim Jong Un visited a western coastal tideland where seawater recently destroyed the embankment and flooded more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, the North Korean leader accused officials of “very irresponsible neglect of duties,” according to Korean Central News Agency.

The North Korean leader criticized premier Kim Tok Hun for showing “the attitude of an onlooker,” KCNA reported, berating the vice premier for failing to perform his duties faithfullyand playing “the role of a fuel supplier only”. Kim Jong Un also said that the director of the tideland reclamation bureau did nothing and concealed a large amount of fuel oil provided for construction works.

“In recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner,” Kim Jong Un said, calling the recent flooding a man-made disaster.

“The cabinet wasn’t aware of the fact that a local corporation in June launched an unauthorized construction project to build a drainage system there and didn’t take any measures even though the leakage of water was discovered at the floodgate bank,” Kim said.

Tae Yongho, a South Korean lawmaker, said, “Kim Jong Un appears to be searching (for) extreme steps to divert public complaints that have been heightened due to worsened public livelihoods and economic situations.”