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Russia’s Top Military Brass Brief Defense Minister on Current Situation, Plans

In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during a meeting with military commanders in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during a meeting with military commanders in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)
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Russia’s Top Military Brass Brief Defense Minister on Current Situation, Plans

In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during a meeting with military commanders in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during a meeting with military commanders in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

Top commanders of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine have briefed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the current situation and action plans, his ministry said on Sunday.

Shoigu paid a rare visit to Russia's forces deployed in Ukraine, awarding medals to military personnel and meeting senior commanders during the trip, according to a statement and videos issued by the Defense Ministry on Saturday.

The minister held a meeting with commanders of the operation, the ministry said in a statement in its Telegram social media app on Sunday. It did not specify if the meeting took place during the trip.

"Sergei Shoigu paid special attention to the set-up of all the necessary conditions for the safe deployment of personnel in the field, the organization of comprehensive support for the troops, especially the work of medical and rear units."

Russia's top military chiefs have visited the front lines in Ukraine only occasionally since Moscow sent tens of thousands of Russian troops into the neighboring country just over a year ago.

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NKorean Leader Accuses Seoul of Smear Campaign Over Floods

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he visits an air force helicopter unit to praise the troops for helping rescue people from recent floods, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he visits an air force helicopter unit to praise the troops for helping rescue people from recent floods, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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NKorean Leader Accuses Seoul of Smear Campaign Over Floods

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he visits an air force helicopter unit to praise the troops for helping rescue people from recent floods, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he visits an air force helicopter unit to praise the troops for helping rescue people from recent floods, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused South Korea’s “rubbish” media of tarnishing the North’s image by allegedly exaggerating the death tolls from recent floods that hit the country’s northwest region, and hinted that he would refuse Seoul’s offer for aid.

Kim made the comments Friday during a visit to an air force helicopter unit, where he praised the troops for helping rescue people from the floods, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.

During the visit, Kim denied claims by South Korean media that 1,000 to 1,500 North Koreans would have died from the floods and that multiple helicopters might have crashed during the emergency response. According to The Associated Press, he described the reports as a “vicious smear campaign” by the South.
Kim labeled South Korea as an unchangeable enemy and stressed that the North will never sacrifice its national defense to improve disaster recovery or people’s standards of living — hinting that Pyongyang would reject Seoul's aid offer.
South Korea’s government offered Thursday to send aid supplies to address the “humanitarian challenges” facing North Korean residents in flood-affected areas near the country’s border with China.
It was widely expected that North Korea would reject the offer. Animosity between the war-divided rivals is at its highest in years over the North’s growing nuclear ambitions and the South’s expansion of combined military exercises with the United States and Japan to counter the North’s threats.
The North had also rejected South Korea’s offers for help while battling a COVID-19 outbreak in 2022.
North Korean state media reports said recent heavy rains left 4,100 houses, 7,410 acres of agricultural fields and numerous other public buildings, structures, roads and railways flooded in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighboring town of Uiju.
State media has not provided information on deaths, but Kim was quoted blaming public officials who had neglected disaster prevention, causing “the casualty that cannot be allowed.”
During his visit to the helicopter unit, Kim said it was a miracle that no casualties were reported in the Sinuiju area and credited the air force personnel for pulling off successful rescue missions.
Kim also said that one helicopter made an emergency landing during a rescue mission but that all pilots were safe, in what appeared to be a denial of South Korean media claims about multiple helicopter crashes.