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SEOUL, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Stories are circulating in North Korea that the state is presenting flood victims with color television sets and telephones, but area residents are dismissing the tales as rumors. A source in North Korea who spoke to Daily NK on the condition of anonymity said the state has completed construction on newly built houses in flood recovery zones and residents are to move in before the end of October.
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"There are rumors [authorities] are to include corded telephones and color televisions in each house," the source said.
Residents however are not taking the news seriously, because the "authorities had made such a fuss about donating blankets and food."
"Residents are asking, 'Can they really donate phones and televisions to countless households?'" the source said.
Two months have passed since "catastrophic" floods hit the country in late August and early September but Kim Jong Un has yet to visit the devastated region where volunteers have reportedly died while working on recovery projects.
The rumors appear to have been circulated by the regime in order to pacify unhappy flood victims ignored by the North Korean leadership, according to Daily NK.
Kim Jong Un is also expected to use funds, collected from donations made by ordinary North Koreans, in order to prepare gifts for flood victims, rather than using regime funds exclusively reserved for personal use.
But if the state calls for more donations, people are likely to raise complaints, the source said.
Residents are also reacting cynically to state housing developments that were built in response to the floods.
"The homes were built in two short months, and so residents are asking, 'How sturdy can they be?'" the source said.
North Korea is expected to create a media event centered on the new construction when residents are to move in, according to the report.
In 2015 North Korea said its military completed construction on 1,800 new homes in about a month, after floods hit the city of Rason.
