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North Korea's Kim inspects service facilities under preparation in Pyongyang's new town

Published: 04 Apr. 2025, 09:40

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, inspects service facilities in the third-stage section of the newly developed Hwasong area, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency on April 4. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected major service facilities being prepared for operation in a newly developed town in Pyongyang, touting them as improvements for people's convenience, state media reported Friday.

Kim visited the service facilities in the third-stage section of the newly developed Hwasong area the previous day and provided field guidance on preparations for their operation, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Pyongyang's northeastern district of Hwasong, along with Songhwa, has been newly developed under a five-year plan unveiled by Kim in 2021 to build 10,000 housing units in the capital every year.

The first batch of 10,000 apartment units was completed in Songhwa the following year, along with 20,000 more units in the first- and second-stage sections of Hwasong from 2023-2024.

The third-stage section is currently being prepared for completion, with Kim claiming the completion of the final fourth-stage section would successfully resolve housing issues in the capital area.

The housing construction, along with another major construction plan to develop rural areas, known as the "Regional Development 20X10 Policy," is Kim's pet project aimed at improving the living standard of the people.

The KCNA reported the third-stage section encompasses various modern service networks, such as commercial, public catering, technical and recreation service facilities, designed "with strong symbolic and specific characters."

Kim, in particular, toured the Hwasong General Vehicle Service Center, where he reviewed operational preparations and remarked that its convenient processes would "satisfy the customers," according to the KCNA.

He also toured a 300-seat computer gaming center, North Korea's first public computer game facility to go into service.

He noted the ruling party considers it important to "steadily explore and expand a new service field in fresh forms" while implementing its policy to "radically improve the material and cultural well-being" of the people.

Photos released by the KCNA showed Kim's daughter, known as Ju-ae, accompanying him on the inspection, her first public appearance in about three months.

Wearing a tight leather jacket, she appears to have grown taller, standing nearly as tall as her father.

Yonhap