North Korea has unveiled a 10,000-apartment building in the capital Pyongyang, after it gradually emerged from a five-year self imposed economic isolation.
The plan is part of a major construction drive in the capital and across the globally isolated, authoritarian country to improve living conditions.
The homes are part of an ambitious five-year plan launched in 2021 to build 50,000 more flats in Pyongyang, where people have a much higher standard of living than elsewhere in the impoverished country.
Despite the gleaming images of Pyongyang’s new skyline, high-rise living in North Korea is not necessarily a symbol of luxury.
Frequent power outages mean that elevators in residential buildings often do not function, making daily life difficult for those living in upper floors.
As a result, younger residents are typically assigned higher apartments, while older residents are moved to lower floors to minimize the physical strain of climbing stairs.
Housing shortages remain a significant challenge for North Korea, which is also grappling with a faltering economy, surging commodity prices, and ongoing food insecurity.
The new neighbourhood features numerous tall towers — two of which are connected by a soaring skybridge — as well as “educational, commercial and service facilities,” according to state media.
According to reports, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un was closely involved in the design and “energetically led the work of drawing up the construction plan.”
Kim’s site visit comes ahead of the official opening ceremony on April 15, one of the country’s most important public holidays, celebrating the birthday of his grandfather, North Korea’s late founder, Kim Il Sung.
The opening will complete the third stage of construction at Hwasong, an area described by state media as a “beautiful and modern urban quarter” that signifies “a new era of prosperity” for Pyongyang.
Pyongyang has been largely closed off to visitors since North Korea shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic more than five years ago.
A small number of Russian tourists visited the city in 2024, though the capital was off-limits to the international tour group that entered the country last month before trips were again suspended.
Hwasong is the latest in a series of recent urban developments in Pyongyang, which is known for its pastel-coloured, Soviet-style architecture.
North Korea is also expanding housing beyond Pyongyang, building thousands of homes in mining towns and rural areas.
While these projects aim to modernise the country, they rely on soldiers and civilian laborers working under harsh conditions with little pay.
Housing is assigned by the government, prioritising those who are considered most loyal to the ruling Kim family and people working in sectors considered most valuable to the nation, such as scientists and engineers.
Experts have expressed concerns about the quality of the construction materials and workmanship on the country’s building projects — especially after a Pyongyang apartment building, which may have housed dozens of families, collapsed in 2014.
The disaster for which no official death was disclosed was attributed to sloppy building and irresponsible supervision of officials.
