Tokyo ? A waterlogged North Korea was forced Saturday to postpone plans to hold a milestone summit with South Korea this month, an unusual admission from the secretive state that it is having trouble coping with havoc caused by this summer’s heavy rains.

The South Korean government swiftly agreed to the North’s request. Their leaders will now meet Oct. 2 to 4 in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had been scheduled to travel from Seoul to Pyongyang on Aug. 28, making the crossing by car. But North Korea’s official news agency reported that parts of the capital are under almost seven feet of water, with roads washed away, communications links broken and parks “buried under silt beyond recognition.”