Hundreds perish in flooding

SEOUL - North Korea is seeking foreign help after massive flooding left hundreds dead or missing and swept away many buildings, a United Nations aid agency spokesman said yesterday.

North Korea, which has struggled with chronic food shortages for years, said in a report that floodwaters caused "tens of thousands of hectares of farmland to be inundated, buried under silt and washed away".

About 63,300 families were left homeless, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

- Reuters