Recently, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, went for a walk. Followed by a group of men in black suits, he explored Hwasong – a new neighborhood of tall towers and buildings connected by a skybridge. The 10,000-apartment complex in the capital city of Pyongyang was first announced in 2021 as part of a five-year plan to construct 50,000 new apartments. The official opening is scheduled for April 15, a public holiday celebrating the birthday of Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

The state news agency KCNA released photos of the development, showing residential skyscrapers stretching out from a wide boulevard in the new district of Hwasong.

In a celebratory speech addressing construction workers last month, Kim Jong Un said: “The Hwasong area will soon become more famous not only as a cradle of the happy and civilised life of the people but as a land of history, which tells new miraculous tales of indomitable socialist Korea.”

“Pyongyang Speed.” That’s how North Korean state media have previously boasted about the rapid construction of housing in the capital.

The country is expanding its housing developments beyond Pyongyang, building thousands of homes in mining towns and rural areas. While these projects are intended to modernise the country, they rely on soldiers and civilian laborers working under harsh conditions for little pay.

The construction follows North Korea’s cautious reopening to tourism after five years of self-imposed isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, just weeks after the first Western tourists entered the country in February for the first time in five years, trips were once again canceled until further notice.