North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony to mark the completion of building another 10,000 units of homes in Pyongyang, state media said on Monday, describing the project to supply more homes as one of the top policy priorities.
Kim attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for completing the first stage of the housing project in the Hwasong district of the capital on Sunday night, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The ceremony came around a year after the North began the construction in February last year under a five-year project to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang by 2025, or 10,000 units each year, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Kim said building 50,000 flats in the capital is the “long-cherished plan” being pushed by the ruling party and the state as a “top priority” to provide citizens with more stable living conditions, the KCNA said.
The housing project is being driven by Kim to produce economic achievements and improve people’s lives amid economic hardships from sanctions and Covid-19 border restrictions.
With the latest completion, the North has supplied 20,000 new homes in Pyongyang. Last year, the country built 10,000 apartments and an 80-floor skyscraper in the Songsin and Songhwa areas.
The North is currently working on building another 10,000 units of flats in the Hwasong district in northeastern Pyongyang under the second stage of the housing project.
The KCNA on Monday described the latest Hwasong housing district as the “blocks of modern flats” sitting on areas of more than 150 hectares.
It houses various skyscrapers, high-rise apartment buildings, public facilities, and public service establishments to “suit the convenience of citizens”, it added.
