Kim Jong Un will not tolerate inaccurate weather reports

GlobalPost

Among the things wrong with North Korea is its horribly out-of-date method for detecting the weather — and that's just not something Kim Jong Un is prepared to let stand. 

No, he's doing something about it. He's going around the country offering "field guidance" to the national hydro-meteorological service, according to state-run Rodong Sinmun.

It's unclear what prompted this public dressing down of North Korea's weathermen and women, but judging from the looks on their faces — not to mention what happened to Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, after he got hung out to dry last year — they know it can't be good. 

The state report says "incorrect forecasts" are to blame for failure to protect people from "disasters caused by the abnormal climatic phenomenon [sic]," which in turn, of course, impact the economy. The economy!

Actually, the young leader may be onto something.

Just last month, North Korea experienced what may have been its worst spring drought in three decades. Thousands of acres of crops were destroyed. This year's crop yield is expected to be low in a country where the UN says two-thirds of 24 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from.

So, would it have been helpful to know about that drought before it happened? Sure, but only if you were planning to do something about it, Kim Jong Un.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.