Typhoon Muifa causes casualties, damages in N. Korea

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- More than 10 people were killed or injured in North Korea after typhoon Muifa pounded the country's western coastal regions, the North's media reported Tuesday. The killer typhoon cut a large swath of destruction as it traveled across North Korea after making landfall on the country's west coast, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Downpours submerged many homes and destroyed an estimated 1,000 hectares of crop and toppled 1,000 roadside trees in North Hwanghae Province, said the report, monitored in Seoul. Heavy property damage was also reported in adjacent South Hwanghae Province where more than 100 houses and 10 public buildings were destroyed, the report said. Some areas were left without electricity. North Korean state media had earlier reported that heavy downpours in recent weeks left dozens of people dead and wreaked havoc across the country. Last week, South Korea offered North Korea 5 billion won (US$4.6 million) in emergency relief aid, but turned down the communist state's request to provide food, cement and heavy construction equipment.