The Kyongsong Children's Camp seven-story main building | Image: KCTV (Nov. 11, 2023)
A small “new” political camp for children recently promoted in North Korean state media actually took over 14 years to build, according to NK News analysis, in the latest sign that chronic material shortages and top-down management problems are contributing to long construction delays.
The Rodong Sinmun reported on Nov. 10 that the “Mother Party spared no expense” to build the Kyongsong Children’s Camp for “the new generation,” but satellite imagery shows the basic structure of the seven-story hotel-like building was originally constructed in summer 2009 before multiple periods of abandonment.
A small “new” political camp for children recently promoted in North Korean state media actually took over 14 years to build, according to NK News analysis, in the latest sign that chronic material shortages and top-down management problems are contributing to long construction delays.
The Rodong Sinmun reported on Nov. 10 that the “Mother Party spared no expense” to build the Kyongsong Children’s Camp for “the new generation,” but satellite imagery shows the basic structure of the seven-story hotel-like building was originally constructed in summer 2009 before multiple periods of abandonment.
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Colin Zwirko is a Senior Analytic Correspondent for NK News based in Seoul. He joined the company in 2018 after receiving a master's degree in international security and foreign policy from South Korea's Yonsei University. Follow him on Twitter.