North Korea’s leader unveils plan to expand capital

KARACHI, Pakistan

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced a plan to expand the capital Pyongyang and renovate its dilapidated suburbs, state media reported Monday.

Kim unveiled the plan at a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday for the construction of 10,000 flats in Pyongyang's Hwasong area, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

It is part of his broader five-year development plan announced in 2021 to build 50,000 housing units in the capital.

Kim said his government will follow a construction plan to expand the capital eastward toward Kangdong County -- a suburban county in eastern Pyongyang -- after completing the Hwasong construction project.

The proposed plan includes the construction of a cluster of science research centers, schools and modern housing in Hwasong and nearby areas.

It also envisages the establishment of another science and culture district within the city, while dilapidated regions in and around the capital area will be refurbished.

The construction plan will be presented at a meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea next year to be adopted as a major policy project, Kim added.

Under the five-year development plan unveiled in 2021, Kim pledged to build 10,000 housing units every year. Since then, the first batch of 10,000 apartments was built that year in the capital's newly developed Songsin and Songhwa areas, while 30,000 more were nearly completed in Hwasong between 2022-2024.