The Voice of America(VOA) has cited the office of the UN resident coordinator in Pyongyang as saying that torrential rains and flooding have devastated North Korea, leaving 138 killed.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN office said that 400 others remain missing and nearly 20-thousand homes have been destroyed after remnants of Typhoon Lionrock caused flooding in the North's northeast.

The UN said heavy rains also caused the Tumen River to overflow, leading to severe floods and landslides, particularly in North Hamgyong Province. In the statement, UN Resident Coordinator in Pyongyang Tapan Mishra said the situation will worsen as "winter is approaching and temperatures will rapidly plunge below zero degrees."
He said that North Korea has suffered from flooding in the past but this is the largest disaster in recent memory and the impact is devastating.

VOA also said the UN Children's Fund, or UNICEF, has delivered relief items including health care supplies, nutritional assistance and water purifiers on trucks from the capital Pyongyang to Hoeryong City in North Hamgyong Province and handed them out to flood victims.

UNICEF Deputy Representative Murat Sahin, who visited the outskirts of Hoeryong, has also said the latest flood is the worst in 60 years for residents in the province. He added that provincial officials have never dealt with a disaster of this scale.