In 2021, the North Korean dictator had already presented plans to build more than 50,000 new houses in Pyongyang by 2025. The first 10,000 of these were completed last year, including an 80-story skyscraper.
Famine
According to Reuters, the plan was in response to South Korea’s warning of a deepening food crisis in isolated North Korea, which is also suffering from sanctions on its weapons programs and the economic effects of the coronavirus lockdowns. The number of people dying of hunger would only increase, South Korea concludes.
North Korea is by no means confirming food shortages, but the government has entered into a consultation with the North Korean agricultural sector to discuss the development of that sector.
Little challenge
The housing projects are seen by Kim Jong Un as “a real challenge”, so he has mobilized a young workforce. Normally, progress in the North Korean construction industry is slow, especially as there is a shortage of building materials. The construction project would become a “proud new page” in the history of North Korean youth movements, the government said.