North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a ceremony celebrating the completion of 10,000 newly constructed homes in the capital city of Pyongyang, according to reports from state-controlled media on Tuesday. The milestone comes as the isolated nation prepares for a major political gathering later this month.
The housing completion represents the fulfillment of an ambitious construction target established five years earlier during the country’s previous major political conference. Kim has been making public appearances at various construction locations and highlighting development achievements in advance of the upcoming Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
This significant political event, scheduled for later in February, serves as North Korea’s most important governmental assembly, where officials evaluate past performance, establish future policy directions, and potentially announce leadership changes.
During Monday’s ceremony in Pyongyang’s Hwasong District, Kim celebrated reaching the target of 50,000 new residential units across the metropolitan region, a goal that was established during the Eighth Congress held five years prior, state media KCNA reported.
“Based on the transformational achievements… during the Eighth period, the Ninth Congress of the party will set a grander goal of restoration and creation,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
Kim’s teenage daughter Ju Ae accompanied him to the ceremony, where she was photographed embracing and congratulating new residents of the housing development. Intelligence experts and South Korean officials have increasingly suggested that Kim may be preparing his daughter for eventual succession to leadership.
State television footage showed the father and daughter visiting various amenities within the housing complex, including a gaming center resembling an internet café, a music store, and a veterinary clinic where they interacted with a small dog.
KCNA also reported that delegates for the approaching party congress arrived in Pyongyang on Monday. Historical patterns suggest the major political gathering typically begins within three to four days after representatives reach the capital, according to Hong Min, a research analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.
