PYONGYANG – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has just revealed to the world what is deemed as one of its most iconic construction projects: the launch of Samjiyon, a new town near Mount Paektu.
State media KCNA has shared that the town will accommodate 4,000 families, who will have access to new apartments, a stadium, and even ski slope among other facilities.
Samjiyon could appeal with its clean facades and buildings not alike any other town in the country, shared a correspondent from NK News, but, as with North Korea’s rule that visitors be allowed only on authorised tours to designated spots, “someone roaming around as a tourist would not stumble into less well-kept areas away from the main road, as is the case in Pyongyang and other cities”.
The town was first mentioned by leader Kim two years ago, as a big “rebuilding” project. Its importance is amplified by Samjiyon’s proximity to the sacred mountain of Mount Paektu, said to be the birthplace of leader Kim’s father. The town has also been raised as a model example for the rest of North Korea.
Samjiyon will be part two of a three-part plan to boost the county in which it’s located in, including the building of hotel resorts, ski facilities etcetera to boost tourism before its actual opening in October 2020.
However, controversy surround the construction, said to be the result of forced labour. The fancy new town is also located in the country’s outskirts, where majority of its people live in poor conditions and many “suffer from shortages of food, fuel, electricity, running water and other necessities,” according to non-governmental organisation the National Committee on North Korea.