North Korea speeds construction spree in Samjiyon

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un inspects construction sites in Samjiyon, Ryanggang Province in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) on Oct. 30, 2018. KCTV-Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

North Korea is speeding up construction in the Samjiyon region, one of the main focuses of a massive nationwide construction campaign addressed in the country's leader Kim Jong-un's New Year speech, the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) organ Rodong Sinmun reported Tuesday.

The party newspaper said all the commanders and soldier-builders as well as members of the shock-brigade ― people mobilized for the country's construction projects ― are maximizing construction work for houses and other facilities in the township of the Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province despite the cold weather.

"The brigade commanders are taking the lead in the aggressive warfare (of construction) while giving life to the project that aims to adopt work methods that enable construction to proceed without stopping even in cold weather conditions in the northern area," it said. "The members of the brigade are working on the interior finishing work for the service facilities."

Last October, Kim Jong-un inspected construction sites in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province, and called for early completion by October 2020, with the original four-stage plan by 2021 cut to three stages.

Meanwhile, North Korean university students from across the country, including those from Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chaek University of Technology and Hamhung University of Chemical Industry, have also been mobilized at the construction sites as they are on winter vacation, according to the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report on Jan. 14.

According to South Korean media Daily NK's Feb. 7 report citing a source in Ryanggang Province, the central party asked residents in the area to provide food for university students and the residents were unhappy about it.