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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un conducting on-the-spot guidance of a construction site in the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area as depicted by Korean Central Television (KCTV) on Apr. 6. (Yonhap News)

In a recent visit to the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area, which is under construction, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un once again delayed the completion date for the project by six more months. Kim cautioned workers not to get so obsessed with speed that they end up doing a slapdash job. In contrast with last year, however, Kim didn’t take the occasion to bash the sanctions imposed on the North.

Kim’s visit to the tourist area was covered by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Apr. 6. “Instead of getting too caught up in our ‘speed battle’ to complete the construction by Party Foundation Day [Oct. 10], the deadline will be extended by six months so that our work can be perfected by the Day of the Sun [Apr. 15] next year,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

An ongoing construction project in the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area captured by KCTV on Apr. 6. (Yonhap News)

During a visit to the same spot last year, Kim described this project as resistance to the “sanctions blockade” imposed by the US and other countries and vowed not to give in to that pressure. This time, however, Kim made no mention of the international community’s “sanctions blockade.”

Yang Mun-su, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, regarded the adjustment of the timeframe as reflecting “the pragmatic attitude under Kim Jong-un.” This can be inferred from Kim’s call for “the construction to be of the highest quality [. . .] so that it will remain impressive 50 or even 100 years from now.”

“This can also be regarded as the application of situational logic, with the recognition that it’s currently difficult [to make progress on construction because of the sanctions],” Yang added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un conducting on-the-spot guidance of a construction site in Yangdok County

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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