Kim Jong Un brings daughter to launch of housing project in Pyongyang

Kim Jong Un brings his daughter to launch of new housing project in Pyongyang in her seventh public appearance amid rumours she is being primed as successor

• Kim Jong Un mobilises young labourers to launch Pyongyang housing project
• He has also pushed an ambitious plan to build 50,000 homes in the capital 
• Read More: Everything we know about Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju-ae

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to the launch of new housing project in Pyongyang in her seventh public appearance amid rumours she is being primed as successor.

This comes as he pushes for an ambitious plan to build 50,000 homes in Pyongyang despite deepening economic hardships.

Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction project in Pyongyang’s Sopo district on Saturday with thousands of young labourers, the official KCNA news agency reported.

He was accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who has appeared recently in a series of major events.

It is the seventh in a run of public appearances that have risen speculation over whether she is being primed for a leadership role.

Kim Jong Un and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction project in Pyongyang’s Sopo district on Saturday

This comes as he pushes for an ambitious plan to build 50,000 homes in the capital despite deepening economic hardships

Last week, Kim Jong Un took his daughter to a football game celebrating his late father’s birthday

Before then her most recent appearance was on February 9 where the young girl, who is believed to be nine or ten years old, stood with her father a North Korean military parade.

Here he unveiled a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that he could test in the coming months.

The event marked the 75th founding anniversary of the country’s army – the trip came amid indications that North Korea is preparing to stage a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang.

State media’s lofty description of Kim Ju Ae described her as ‘respected’ and ‘beloved’. 

She attended a flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November and has accompanied her father to a meeting with military scientists and a missile inspection. 

Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju are believed to have three children, including a son and second daughter, both of whom have not appeared in public. 

In 2021, Kim unveiled a plan to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang by 2025, and state media reported the completion of the first 10,000 new apartments last year, including a 80-floor skyscraper.

He mobilised the young labour units, called dolgyeokdae or ‘Shock Brigade,’ in his pet infrastructure initiatives which have often faced lacklustre progress amid resources shortages

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talks with his daughter Kim Ju Ae during the lavish banquet

The plan follows South Korea warned of a deepening food crisis in the isolated North amid sanctions over its weapons programmes and the fallout from COVID-19 lockdowns, including a recent surge in deaths from starvation in some countryside regions.

North Korea has not confirmed any food shortages but the ruling party has scheduled a meeting for late February to discuss agricultural development, calling it a ‘very important and urgent task.’

Kim has said the housing projects faces ‘unprecedentedly harsh challenges.’ 

He mobilised the young labour units, called dolgyeokdae or ‘Shock Brigade,’ in his pet infrastructure initiatives which have often faced lacklustre progress amid resources shortages, including a massive housing campaign in the northern alpine town of Samjiyon.

In Sopo, he aims to create a ‘distinctive street’ with about 4,100 homes, in addition to a recently launched drive for 10,000 apartments, Kim said, thanking some 100,000 young men who volunteered to join the plans.

The new housing project would serve as ‘another proud page in the history of youth movements’ and a symbol of the country’s socialist revolution and ‘political struggle,’ Kim said.

‘The distinctive architectures of this street will intuitively show our nation’s status and rapid development,’ Kim said.

‘It will clearly prove it to the world how our movement and struggle are advancing and developing and how vigorously they are expanding even in the face of the most arduous trials and difficulties,’ he added. 

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