Leader Kim Jong Un continues to build exterior glowing apartment buildings in the capital Pyongyang, the latter being an 80-storey skyscraper completed this week. But dissidents and other North Koreans say unreliable elevators and electricity, poor water supply and construction concerns mean that historically few people wanted to live near the top of such structures. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “In North Korea, the poor live in penthouses rather than the rich, because elevators often do not work properly and cannot pump water due to low pressure,” said Jung Si-woo, a 31-year-old self-confessed man. in neighboring South Korea in 2017. In the north, he lived on the third floor of a 13-story building that had no elevator, while a friend who lived on the 28th floor of a 40-story plot had never used the elevator because it did not work, Jung said. Asked about the new 80-story skyscraper that opened this week, Jung said he thought Kim was just showing off. “It is to show how much their construction skills have improved, instead of taking into account the preferences of the residents,” said the student. North Korea provides housing, with the purchase and sale of technically illegal houses or apartments in the socialist state. However, experts say that this practice has become common, which was mainly used by those who benefited from the expansion of private markets under Kim. He vowed to improve the quality of construction and build tens of thousands of new apartments. Its economy has been hit by self-imposed border closures against COVID-19, natural disasters and international sanctions on nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, which the United States says deprive people of limited resources to meet their needs. On Wednesday, state media reported that the first 10,000 new apartments were completed in Pyongyang, from a target of 50,000, and reported their completion speed, including the 80-story skyscraper. The workers “guaranteed the quality of construction” and the new apartments and other buildings intended for use in education, public health and welfare services would further help make the capital city “the people first”, the state-run KCNA news agency reported. On Thursday, state media showed Kim launching another housing complex, this time for members of the elite, including a famous TV presenter. They were low buildings, each only a few storeys high. PROGRESS MUST BE MADE Power has improved significantly under Kim, creating some new nightlife opportunities, but North Korea still faces shortages and sometimes poor infrastructure. Many have turned to individual solar panels for powerless spells. This has caused a rash of small items of consumer electronics, but they can not power amenities such as elevators and water supply. Lee Sang-yong, editor-in-chief of the Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that lists North Korea, said his sources said the regular apartments were not ready to live. The windows had only frames and the water taps, although installed, did not work, but the recently completed luxury homes come with furniture and utensils. To ensure that the new high-rise apartments are popular, North Korea will have to further improve its electricity and water supplies and overcome quality concerns, he added. Jung said that when he lived in Pyongyang, most elevators only operated twice a day, during peak hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and at the same time at night. The low water pressure often forced those living on higher floors to carry water upstairs or to install their own special pumping machines, he added. During the last major government-sponsored international tour in 2018, the elevators operated at the 47-storey Yanggakdo International Hotel, but there was no electricity on dozens of floors where North Korean staff lived. At the time, two North Korean officials told Reuters that the upper levels of apartment buildings at one of Kim’s recent construction projects on Mirae Scientists Street had few customers due to elevator concerns. “No one wants to risk having to climb for an hour,” said one. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional Reports from Minwoo Park. Josh Smith writes. Edited by Clarence Fernandez Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
