At least nine people have been killed, mostly drowned in flooding, after a typhoon battered South Korea, a disaster official said on Monday, while impoverished North Korea braced for huge waves and torrential rain. Lee Gon-hee of the Central Disaster and Safety Control Centre in Seoul said a further three people were missing after Typhoon Meari skirted the west coast of South Korea at the weekend. Meari, the Korean word for “echo”, was due to make landfall in North Korea early on Monday. The North’s KCNA state news agency warned residents in the coastal areas of South Hamgyong Province and Kangwon Province to be ready for “tidal waves”. Dozens of domestic flights were cancelled in South Korea on Sunday and ships ordered to stay in port. Authorities said international flights were not affected.