SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un attended groundbreaking ceremonies for new housing and farming projects, which are part of his push for domestic achievements as the country鈥檚 economic isolation deepens amid his defiant .
North Korea鈥檚 official Korean Central News Agency said Kim broke ground Wednesday for the construction of a huge greenhouse farm in the outskirts of the capital, Pyongyang, where senior North Korean official Jo Yong Won in a speech said that providing Pyongyang residents with 鈥渇resh vegetables in all seasons鈥� was a 鈥渢op priority.鈥�
Kim also attended a ceremony marking the start of second-stage construction project to build 10,000 new homes in Pyongyang鈥檚 Hwasong district. The project is part of broader plans to supply 50,000 new homes in the capital under a five-year national development plan that runs through 2025.
Experts say North Korea has severe shortages in quality housing that deepened over decades of economic decay. But living conditions are much better in capital Pyongyang, where Kim in past years has pushed huge development projects that upgraded housing for elites and changed the city鈥檚 skyline.
Kim Tok Hun, premier of North Korea鈥檚 Cabinet, gave a speech encouraging the 鈥渁rmy-civilian builders鈥� to produce 鈥渆ye-opening miracles in the construction of the capital city in the great era of Kim Jong Un.鈥� He stressed that the construction should be 鈥渃arried out without fail鈥� in the face of unspecified 鈥渉arsh difficulties.鈥�
The ceremonies came a week after in Pyongyang where troops rolled out around a dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles 鈥� an unprecedented number despite limited resources while diplomacy remains stalled.
But the costs of Kim鈥檚 nuclear push appear to be piling up. North Korea鈥檚 ruling Korean Workers鈥� Party is planning to hold a major meeting this month to discuss the 鈥渦rgent鈥� task of improving agricultural production as outside experts and officials say the country鈥檚 food insecurity could be getting serious.
Already battered by decades of mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions over Kim鈥檚 nuclear ambitions, the North Korean economy took a further hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the country to shield its poor health care system with stringent border controls that significantly reduced trade with China, its main ally and economic lifeline.
During a December political conference, ruling party members identified key economic projects for 2023 that emphasized construction and agricultural activities 鈥� focuses that are less dependent on trade as industrial production has been decimated by sanctions and halted imports of factory materials.
State media reports on the latest meeting of hinted that Kim鈥檚 government was still struggling to revive the moribund economy.
Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press
