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International visitors attending a dedication ceremony on Apr. 13 for Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang. (Yonhap News)

International news outlets in North Korea unanimously reported the staging of a dedication ceremony on Apr. 13 for Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance.

In an Apr. 13 report with a Pyongyang dateline, Reuters reported that “scores of foreign journalists [were] gathered in Pyongyang for North Korea's biggest national day, the ‘Day of the Sun,’ marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung [on Apr. 15],” to attend “what officials billed as a ‘big and important event’ early on Thursday.”

The event “turned out to be the opening of a new street [Ryomyong Street] in the center of the capital, attended by current leader Kim Jong Un,” the report continued.

According to reports in the Rodong Sinmun and other North Korean news outlets, Ryomyong Street was built over an area of around 893,000 square meters in Pyongyang’s northeastern Taesong district, which is also home to Kim Il-sung University and Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. It’s a version of the “new town” concept, featuring high-rise apartments measuring 55 and 70 stories, along with shopping centers, educational facilities like nurseries and kindergartens, and services such as restaurants.

The Ryomyong Street effort has served as a symbol for the economic side of the nuclear and economic development “two-track approach” adopted by Kim since taking power. The project also has the aim of broadcasting at home and overseas that the North Korean economy has not suffered amid multiple rounds of sanctions from the international community. This also explains why Kim visited the street’s construction site in person twice this year, on Jan. 25 and Mar. 16, to call for its completion by Apr. 15.

In a field guidance message during his January visit, Kim said the project “proves once again that no sanctions or pressure can prevent the victorious advancement of our military and people.” In another message in March, he described Ryomyong Street as “a reflection of our [Workers’] Party’s vision of staving off the vicious obstruction machinations of the US empire and hostile forces and seeing through the building of a powerful nation.”

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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