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| .Greenhouses in Samjiyon devoted to growing crops for the chronically undernourished North (AFP Photo/Ed JONES) |
Like a scene from an epic film, thousands of workers swarm over the building sites of Samjiyon, a monumental construction project in the far reaches of North Korea ordered by leader Kim Jong Un.
They
clamber over wooden scaffolding and dangle from window frames, and whether they
are carrying loads, sifting sand or mixing concrete, most of the work is
carried out by hand.
The plan
involves nothing less than the rebuilding of the entire town of Samjiyon, the
seat of a county that includes the supposed birthplace of Kim's father and
predecessor Kim Jong Il, and Mount Paektu, the spiritual birthplace of the
Korean nation.
It encompasses a museum of revolutionary activities, a winter sports training complex, processing plants for blueberries and potatoes -- two of the area's most important crops -- a new railway line to Hyesan, and 10,000 apartments.
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The plan
involves the rebuilding of the entire town of Samjiyon, the seat
of a county
that includes the supposed birthplace of Kim's father Kim Jong Il
(AFP Photo/Ed
JONES)
|
It encompasses a museum of revolutionary activities, a winter sports training complex, processing plants for blueberries and potatoes -- two of the area's most important crops -- a new railway line to Hyesan, and 10,000 apartments.
It is the
kind of showpiece scheme that can only be launched by a state as monolithic as
North Korea, where authorities can decide to deploy vast amounts of resources
and manpower to a single goal and implement it by order.
The results
can be striking -- thousands of houses were built in just three months after
flooding hit North Hamgyong province in 2016.
But doubts
have been raised about the sustainability of such projects once the physical
infrastructure is established, with questions over issues ranging from utility
supplies to durability and economic viability.
'Home of our revolution'
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Kim
inspected the Samjiyon Potato Farina Production Factory last year
(AFP
Photo/KCNA VIA KNS)
|
'Home of our revolution'
Leader Kim
has himself addressed such concerns on his several inspection visits to
Samjiyon -- one of which, last year, saw him photographed sitting with
officials on a mountain of potatoes, which he is encouraging to diversify the
food sources in the chronically undernourished North.
The
builders should prioritise quality over speed, he told them at the time, with
the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) citing him saying that if construction
was "gorgeous in appearance but poor in substance, it will be blamed by
the people and future generations".
He has also
stressed the need to ensure sufficient electricity supplies in the drive to
turn Samjiyon, the "home of our revolution" into "a highly
civilised mountainous city" and "the richest county in the
country", according to KCNA.
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Greenhouses
in Samjiyon devoted to growing crops for the chronically
undernourished North
(AFP Photo/Ed JONES)
|
It is an
ambitious goal in a remote, challenging environment, with long, bitterly cold
winters and mountainous terrain, and an area where many roads are still
unsealed.
According
to local officials, around half of the workforce in Samjiyon county -- which
has a population of 25,000 -- are employed in maintaining its historic sites
and related activities, 20 percent in agriculture and the rest in industry, including
food processing.
'Hostile
forces'
Pyongyang
has given no figures for the cost of the redevelopment, which will open in
phases with Kim ordering completion by the 75th anniversary of the foundation
of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in October next year.
Some of the Samjiyon buildings already appear finished with their exteriors tiled, others remain just concrete shells.
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The project
includes plans to build 10,000 apartments (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)
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Some of the Samjiyon buildings already appear finished with their exteriors tiled, others remain just concrete shells.
Many of the
builders are soldiers -- much of the North's army is devoted to construction --
while others are civilians, and they work even on the harvest holiday of
Chusok, one of Korea's most important traditional festivals.
Students
have been sent to work on the scheme during university holidays and some of
those on site appear to be teenagers.
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Many of the
builders are soldiers -- much of the North's army is devoted
to construction
(AFP Photo/Ed JONES)
|
But while the North is never short of manpower, observers suggest that sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have impacted projects such as Samjiyon and the giant Wonsan-Kalma tourist development -- which has repeatedly been delayed -- on the west coast.
KCNA quoted
Kim in April calling Samjiyon "a fierce class and political struggle
against the hostile forces seeking to check the advance of the DPRK".
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