PYONGYANG, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), sent an open letter on Saturday to all members of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, calling on them to help the typhoon-stricken areas recover from damage, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.
The KCNA said Kim in the letter asked party members in the capital to join the post-disaster relief effort in the country's eastern and northeastern regions, including Kangwon Province and South and North Hamgyong Provinces, so as to ensure a successful celebration for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the WPK on Oct. 10, as well as the holding of the 8th Party Congress in January.
The three coastal provinces were hit hard on Thursday by Typhoon Maysak with strong winds and heavy rain, with thousands of houses and public buildings destroyed or damaged. Typhoon Haishen, or Typhoon No. 10, is expected to arrive at the Korean Peninsula late Monday.
Kim said the WPK's Central Committee decided to dispatch 12,000 elite party members to South and North Hamgyong Provinces.
"The Party Central Committee appeals to the party members in the capital to sincerely console the people in the disaster-stricken areas and to earnestly aid them with the tender care of the Party and with warm feelings of the capital city of Pyongyang, so that they would get rid of aftermath as early as possible," the KCNA quoted the letter as saying.
Kim convened a meeting on Saturday to organize the campaign for recovery from natural disasters in typhoon-hit areas. After the meeting, Kim went to South Hamgyong Province to inspect the situation and received a detailed report on the typhoon damage, according to the KCNA.