In North Korea's northern region, which suffered massive damage from heavy rains in late July, apartment construction for disaster victims is being rushed to meet Kim Jong-un's order for completion by December. According to ASIAPRESS's mid-October investigation from the Chinese side of the border, the construction quality is terrible, and worker safety management appears extremely inadequate. Even on high-rise buildings, workers were seen working without safety lines, raising concerns about falling accidents. Professor Keiichi Imamoto of the Tokyo University of Science, a concrete materials specialist, expressed concern, saying, "It seems only completion is the goal, while human life is being disregarded." In North Korea, rushed construction projects due to policy demands frequently result in major accidents like building collapses. It appears they haven't learned from these lessons. (By HONG Mari)
◆ Weighing Human Lives Against Construction Costs...
Most homes damaged by floods in late July were likely typical low-rise apartments or single-story wooden houses common in North Korea. Meanwhile, the apartments being built along the Yalu River, visible from the Chinese side, are reinforced concrete structures. Professor Imamoto says that “they have much better advantages against flood damage" compared to traditional housing.
However, as noted in the previous article, due to the extremely low construction quality, Professor Imamoto estimates they will be safe to live in for "at most 10-15 years." In locations visible from China with many tourists, 15-story high-rise apartments are being built to showcase reconstruction efforts. However, Professor Imamoto suggests that with such shoddy construction, safety can only be guaranteed for buildings "at most one story" in height.
"Only when built carefully with attention to detail can people live safely. This should be fundamental, but at North Korean construction sites, it seems only completion is the goal."
Regarding the work situation where workers are pushed to rush despite severe shortages of construction materials and safety equipment, he pointed out:
"If you weigh human lives against construction costs and decide construction costs are more important, that means disregarding human life. I'd like to believe this isn't happening, but looking at photos from North Korean sites, I can't help but feel such concerns."
◆ 'Transformed Pyongyang' and the 23-Story Apartment Collapse Behind It
Professor Imamoto's observations bring to mind the 2014 collapse of a new 23-story apartment building in central Pyongyang. It was reported that about 500 people from 92 households who were moving in died.
This apartment was part of the "Pyongyang 100,000 Housing Construction Project" initiated under Kim Jong-il and inherited by Kim Jong-un. As the name suggests, it aimed to build 100,000 housing units in Pyongyang to showcase a "powerful nation." State media constantly promoted the construction rush with phrases like "Pyongyang transformed beyond recognition" and "Pyongyang streets changing overnight."
ASIAPRESS's Pyongyang-based correspondent GU Gwang-ho secretly photographed construction sites in the Taedong River district in August 2011. At construction sites for apartments over 20 stories, cement was sloppily applied to stacked blocks, leaving uneven surfaces.
The collapse appears to have resulted from rushed construction to meet unrealistic deadlines and officials embezzling construction materials like cement and rebar.
◆ Collapse 'Left No Trace, Just Debris'
In the late 1990s, there was reportedly another accident where a new 8-story apartment in Pyongyang's Tongil Street completely collapsed, killing about 60 people. The cause was reportedly continuing construction despite concrete not fully curing after freezing during winter work.
A North Korean defector who saw the accident site testified to ASIAPRESS: "The apartment became a pile of debris without a trace. When temperatures rose in early spring, the frozen concrete's moisture melted and softened, causing the collapse."
Temperatures along the lower Yalu River drop below freezing from mid-November. Professor Imamoto pointed out that continuing concrete work without proper temperature management could lead to collapse. It's easy to imagine that North Korea's characteristic rushed construction has caused casualties not just in Pyongyang but throughout the country. These are truly man-made disasters.
