Six young school pupils and seven teachers are reported to have died in severe North Korean floods while trying to save portraits of the relatives of dictator Kim Jong-un.

The mass drowning, reported on the Daily NK news website, happened in August during disastrous flooding in the northern province of Hamgyong that was caused by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lionrock.

The incident, which cannot be independently verified, came to light as aid agencies desperately try to help the 70,000 people made homeless by the disaster before the freezing winter sets in. North Korea has confirmed that 133 died in the floods and 395 remain missing.

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North Korea has confirmed that 133 died in the floods and 395 remain missing

70,000 people were made homeless after heavy rains hit the Hamgyong province in August

The students, from a school near the city of Hoeryong, died in rapid currents while trying to recover portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the grandfather and father of the current leader, a source told the website.

'At Songhak High School, located near Hoeryong, seven teachers, including the vice-principal, and six students lost their lives while attempting to recover portraits and oil paintings out of the flood waters,' the source said.

'The vice-principal, fearing punishment for not properly protecting the idolisation material, declared an emergency during the flood, and the teachers and the teachers and students mobilised for the recovery task ended up losing their lives.'

Portraits are central to the cult of personality created by the Kim dynasty since the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [DPRK] was established in 1948.

Millions of the pictures hang in every home, school and office as a constant reminder of the family's iron grip on the country.

Citizens are expected to treat the portraits with a reverence bordering on worship, and the images are rigorously policed to maintain their sacred status.

The portraits must be displayed prominently and hung up high so that nobody can stand taller than the leaders. Citizens must clean the pictures regularly and dust inspections are carried out.

North Koreans who prioritise saving pictures of the Kim family are feted as heroes, while those who allow them to be damaged are likely to be punished. Failure to protect the portraits is recorded on an individual's official records for life and threatens their livelihood and social standing.

'If it weren't for the vice-principal's forced display of loyalty, they could have avoided tragedy. It was the demand for loyalty that the [worker's] party so emphasises that drove them to their deaths,' the source said.

The bodies of the students and teachers have reportedly not yet been found.

'Urgent action is needed before the first snows fall,' said Chris Staines, head of theIFRC delegation

'People lack proper shelter, clothing and other basic items to stay warm and healthy through the winter'

Conditions in Hamgyong province remain life-threatening, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross, who launched a $20m emergency appeal for aid this week.

'Urgent action is needed before the first snows fall,' said Chris Staines, head of the IFRC delegation. 'Last year that was in third week of October. People lack proper shelter, clothing and other basic items to stay warm and healthy through the winter.'

Video footage released by the IFRC from Hamgyong showed damaged buildings and displaced people living in rows of temporary shelters. About 600,000 North Koreans are reported to have been directly affected by the disaster and some flooded villages have not yet been reached.

The World Food Programme has warned that the floods destroyed crops just before the harvest period, threatening more hunger in a country where more than 70 percent of the population already suffer food shortages.

WFP said it required $1.2m to replenish emergency stocks for women and children, and $21m to be able to provide aid until next August.

About 600,000 North Koreans are reported to have been directly affected by the disaster and some flooded villages have not yet been reached

Conditions in Hamgyong province remain life-threatening, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross