North Korea using flood aid to repair military roads, report says

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- North Korea may not be using flood relief donations from China as intended for recovering civilian infrastructure.

A source in the country said Pyongyang is taking a significant amount of raw material contributions from Beijing and redirecting the goods to rehabilitate roads for exclusive military use, Radio Free Asia reported.

"Reconstruction is underway for a military road near Punggye-ri that had been neglected for a long time," the source said. "The North Korean authorities had included the road construction work as part of the 200-day battle on flood recovery."

The state is abusing its power to siphon resources from disaster work to improve military facilities, according to the report.

China had announced in November a $3 million relief package to North Korea for humanitarian aid and reconstruction projects.

The aid was delivered as other countries, including South Korea and Japan, refrained from providing flood assistance because they wanted more transparency about how aid would be allocated.

A second source in Yanggang Province said the military road repair work was being carried out according to a special directive from North Korea's central military commission, and that the project was to be completed "at any cost" by May 2017.

The source added the military road was unaffected by the floods and had been in a bad condition for a long time.

The news comes at a time when North Korea is concluding the mass mobilization movement, or the 200-day battle.

Pyongyang's state-controlled television network KCTV stated Friday productivity has increased during the period, including in fisheries where catches of fish surpassed target numbers by "170 percent."

North Korea media reported Kim Jong Un visited a military-run fishery station to commemorate the end of the movement.