North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may have ordered at least 30 government officials to be executed after the devastating floods over the summer that killed thousands, according to a new report from South Korea.

The South’s TV Chosun reported Tuesday that North Korean authorities sentenced between 20 and 30 people to capital punishment last month for their failure to stop the deadly flooding. 

An official was quoted as telling the outlet, “Twenty to 30 cadres in the flood-stricken area were executed at the same time late last month.” 

While it’s difficult to know the details given the North’s extreme secrecy, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has reported that Kim ordered authorities to “strictly punish” the officials after catastrophic floods hit the Chagang Province, near the border with China, in July. 

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North Korean state media reported that heavy rains in late July left more than 4,000 homes as well as numerous other public buildings, structures, roads and railways flooded in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighboring town of Uiju.

Kim blamed public officials who had neglected disaster prevention for causing “the casualty that cannot be allowed.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

The North has rebuffed offers of aid from China, Russia and even South Korea, with whom tensions remain at all-time highs. 

Kim made a two-day tour of Uiju in early August to meet flood victims and discuss recovery efforts. While touring there, Kim was quoted by KCNA as accusing the South of exaggerating the extent of the damage from the floods, decrying it as a “smear campaign” and a “grave provocation” against his government. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nearly 200 middle schools in France began testing a “digital break” this week —a complete ban on cell phones in the classroom. The aim is to reduce screen time and combat cyberbullying, a move welcomed by both school staff and students.

If the trial proves successful, the ban will be implemented in all schools starting January 2025.

At Claudine Hermann Middle School in the southern suburbs of Paris, students start their morning by handing in their mobile phones.

“It gets students used to being without their phones all day and teaching them to live differently even during recess instead of always being on their phones,” said Fabien Leroux, a school supervisor.

Victor, an 11-year-old student, said, “We’re here to have fun, so there’s no point in having a phone.”

Halima, another sixth-grade student, agreed, saying, “I think it’s a very good idea because phones can be distracting during lessons. It’s better not to have them in front of us during class.”

The mobile phones are stored in five heavy-duty briefcases throughout the school day. The middle school invested in these briefcases, each costing €300, with all expenses covered out of pocket. The State does not contribute to funding this test ban, leaving the financial burden to the country’s departments responsible for funding middle schools, some of which consider it too heavy.

François Sauvadet, president of the Association of Departments of France, estimates that if the ban were to be implemented nationwide, it could cost the country’s 7,000 middle schools around €125 million in new equipment, according to domestic media reports.

However, France’s outgoing Education Minister, Nicole Belloubet, disagrees. During a visit to Claudine Hermann Middle School on Tuesday, she said, “The financial costs seem fairly modest to me. The briefcases chosen by this school to store mobile phones cost about 60 euros each and were paid out of their own funds.”

“But of course, I wouldn’t want there to be any misunderstanding with the Association of Departments of France. I will contact them again if there needs to be any clarifications,” Belloubet explained in an interview with Euronews.

As a new government has yet to be formed following the early parliamentary elections called by President Emmanuel Macron, the caretaker administration is managing day-to-day affairs. The decision on whether this ban should be expanded nationwide next year will be decided by the future education minister.