The following article is the seventh in a multipart series by Taylor Darby, a pseudonym for a foreign diplomat that worked in Pyongyang for an extended period of time before being forced to leave in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

Construction projects play an important role in the propaganda of the DPRK. In Pyongyang, a lot of attention is given to building a capital city that reflects the supreme divinity and omniscience of the North Korean leader, who supposedly personally plans every