- Title: Despite sanctions and isolation, Pyongyang skyline grows
- Date: 23rd May 2016
- Summary: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (FILE - OCTOBER 10, 2015) (REUTERS) PYONGYANG SKYLINE RYUGYONG HOTEL/HIGH RISES
- Embargoed: 7th June 2016 06:31
- Keywords: North Korea South Korea sanctions economy construction politics
- Location: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA/SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- City: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA/SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: Various
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0014J127NP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Pyongyang skyline is rising - and not just with the trophy structures that represent the North Korean state. Despite its political and economic isolation, the capital is in the midst of a building boom.
In a comparison to video taken by Reuters in early May of this year and on a visit to Pyongyang last October, several new high-rises of 20 or more stories have appeared in the capital, some appearing near completion.
The construction, mostly of what look to be apartments, is despite tightened U.N. sanctions against isolated North Korea for pursuing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
It is further evidence of the rising role of a market economy that has yet to be fully recognised by the government but is changing the landscape and improving the lives of people, at least in some parts of a country that remains mostly poor.
Large yellow cranes could be seen jutting from the tops of taller, unfinished blocks. Red flags mark top floors.
More than a dozen workers secured by harnesses on suspended platforms could be seen by foreign journalists from the dates of May 3-11 applying tile to the rough-looking concrete exterior of a low-rise building, as the capital prepared for its first ruling party congress in 36 years.
The cash behind the construction comes from North Korea's version of public-private partnership.
Local investors known as "donju", or "masters of money", who have earned wealth in North Korea's growing market economy, invest jointly with the state in apartment construction.
Apartment blocks in North Korea are often assigned by profession, with groups such as teachers, workers, or scientists and their families under the same roof. But a growing private trade in property and more private investors means that, as elsewhere, the best locations go to the highest bidder.
"By completing large-scale constructions in Pyongyang in a short period of time, despite international community's sanctions against them, North Korea can tell their economy is going well. They also take advantage of construction projects to induce loyalty to Kim Jong Un by giving benefits to local residents," said Cho Bong-hyun, a senior research fellow on North Korea's economy at the Industrial Bank of Korea in Seoul.
The market economy appears to be growing, based on the rising number of cars on Pyongyang streets and consumer goods in shops, despite increasing isolation and the U.N. sanctions that were tightened in March following the country's fourth nuclear test in January.
"A lot of great buildings are currently constructed in Pyongyang. This is very meaningful that this kind of high-rise building is being built," said university student and Pyongyang resident Kim Jun.
Many of the workers in the building boom are from North Korea's million-man army, with "soldier-builders" mobilised for construction and spending more time with shovels than Kalashnikovs.
The Mirae Scientists Street, which was constructed over the past two years, has become a hallmark of supreme leader Kim Jong Un's construction push. The street is merely a residency assigned to respected scientists and scholars. Foreign journalists were given a tour of the street by Pyongyang authorities during their May visit this year.
The Mangyongdae Children's Palace, although originally constructed in 1980, has recently been heavily renovated.
Kang Song Hui, a Pyongyang resident and guide at the palace, said the renovation has drawn in a larger number of foreign tourists.
"Under the passionate leadership of our respected leader, a lot of buildings were constructed in Pyongyang. To contribute to our people's convenience, various buildings such as Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace and Scientists Street complex were built," she said.
North Korean state media often touts showpiece construction projects, such as the new terminal at Pyongyang's airport or model housing sites.
The new apartment blocks rising in Pyongyang appear more grounded in economic reality than the gargantuan Ryugyong hotel, which looms over Pyongyang and has never been completed.
The 105-storey pyramid-shaped structure was a barren shell for years until Egypt's Orascom was persuaded to pay for a shiny glass coating as part of a 2008 deal to set up a mobile phone network in the country.
The hotel has yet to open.
The Pyongyang skyline also appears to be getting brighter.
Thanks to a surge in private solar panel use and cheap, locally-made LED bulbs, once-dim apartment windows glow, although they are still all-but drowned out by the brightly lit statues and portraits dedicated to the ruling Kim family. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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