North Korea celebrates building 10,000 modern homes in Pyongyang

Workers react during the groundbreaking ceremony for new flats in the 2nd phase of the construction project in Hwasong district, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released on February 15, 2023 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea held a ceremony on Sunday to celebrate the completion of 10,000 new modern homes in the newly built Hwasong District in Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported.

Leader Kim Jong Un took part in the ceremony, the report said, as well as a number of senior government officials including Kim Tok Hun, premier of the cabinet.

The milestone comes two months after Kim broke ground in February on another housing project that has been described as "another luxurious street of socialism full of the people's happiness" by KCNA.

In 2021, North Korea announced plans to build 50,000 new apartments in the capital over the course of five years.

Since then, North Korea said it has moved forward with a series of construction projects, some of which are still ongoing amid foreign suspicion of food shortages.

Kim said the housing project is a long-cherished plan being pushed forward as a "top priority" by the Workers' Party of Korea and the state and he reaffirmed his idea to make Pyongyang a "world-famous" city, according to KCNA.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Sandra Maler)