N.Korea convenes meeting on natural disaster preparedness

Seoul, Feb 4 (IANS) North Korea has convened a national response committee to prepare emergency measures against natural disasters, including typhoons and floods, according to its state media on Friday.

In the session chaired by Premier Kim Tok-hun the previous day, the members of the ad hoc committee for natural disaster prevention and response reviewed last year's related measures and analyzed what can be improved, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

They emphasized that all officials and workers should ensure the "scientific characteristics and promptness of the national emergency management system" and thoroughly map out measures to deal nimbly with various natural disasters, Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA report as saying.

During its Workers' Party plenary late last year, the North rolled out a series of measures to develop its agriculture sector this year amid chronic food shortages.