North Korean leader Kim Jong Un turned his public focus from military to civilian matters for the first time in over six weeks with a visit to a new hospital project, according to state media on Tuesday, though the site is located in a military town known for hosting major live-fire drills.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim visited construction sites for hospital and “leisure complex” pilot projects in Kangdong County near Pyongyang on Monday.
He last visited the sites to kick off construction in early February.
The inspections come as Kim has been busy managing a major naval disaster and his deployment of thousands of troops to war in Russia, as well as overseeing the final year of his five-year weapons development plan.
Since last year, he has used his “Regional Development 20×10 Policy” as the primary public outlet for communicating his commitment to improving living conditions, while still proclaiming spending priorities on the military.
Kim said in Kangdong this week that his past policies have led to the public health sector “lagging behind all other sectors,” but that it will “surpass other sectors in 10 years” through the construction of hospitals in all counties nationwide.
He suggested, when introducing the plan last year, that these hospitals would be built in all 20 counties chosen each year under the 10-year “20×10” rural factory project. But authorities appear to have scaled back plans, as only three pilot hospitals will be built in 2025, each of a different size, in Kangdong, Ryonggang, and Kusong.
Kim reportedly said Monday that “the overall future plan for constructing health care facilities will be drawn up in greater detail” after studying the three model sites.
It remains unclear if the DPRK leader intends to study just their construction or also their operation first, which could result in building 20 hospitals per year either in 2026 or 2027.
Training systems for medical workers and the country’s pharmaceutical industry also must be radically improved to keep pace with hospital construction, Kim said.
Photos published with the report on Tuesday showed Kim touring a seven-story bare concrete structure built by the military over the last four months in Kangdong.
The photos suggest exterior finishing could be completed soon, leaving interior work and, most importantly, acquiring and installing specialized medical equipment. The latter task appeared to cause at least a five-year delay to Kim’s marquee national hospital project in central Pyongyang.
KCNA said the Kangdong hospital features outpatient and inpatient wards, an operating theater section and an underground parking garage.
Construction appeared further behind on the three-story Kangdong County Leisure Complex, with most outer walls still incomplete.
KCNA did not elaborate on the facilities, but past reporting suggests the complexes will include movie theaters, science libraries, and shops.
The leisure complexes were also billed as part of the 20×10 project, but only three will be built this year, in Kangdong, Kaephung, and Jongphyong.
Kim reportedly said during his inspections on Monday that the hospital and leisure complex projects will demonstrate “the Party’s sincerity toward the people with heroic and resourceful labor.”
He had not conducted any civilian-focused public activities since visiting the site of new apartments in the capital on April 15.
He has made 12 appearances in state media since then, all related to the military, such as visiting weapons factories and guiding missile tests or military drills, according to the NK Pro Leadership Tracker.
And though the hospital and leisure complex in Kangdong is meant for civilians, locals are likely to have close connections to the military and weapons development as the county hosts munitions factories, the Second Economic Committee (SEC), and a recently upgraded military base used for live-fire drills.
Kim attended drills at “Training Base No. 60” in mid-May, with state media showing off new garages and hilltop viewing platforms built to make the leader and his entourage more comfortable while overseeing exercises.
The new hospital in Kangdong could end up taking soldiers injured during drills in the future, though the military also runs the Taesongsan General Hospital specifically for Korean People’s Army (KPA) personnel closer to Pyongyang.
(NK News)
