North Korea made a brief show of
emphasizing construction quality and safety in the aftermath of a catastrophic building
failure in central Pyongyang during May. However, state media output since then has made it clear that the country has not beaten its addiction to the mass mobilization “speed
battle” discourse of development.
Rodong Sinmun
reported on a mass rally related to the remodeling
of the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on June 30th. A number of speakers there were cited in the piece as commenting on “the flame of Chosun Speed” and the need for quick results on the ground, without mention of safety concerns.
The piece described “Chosun Speed” as a new
term created for the
Kim Jong Eun era, and asserted, “It is not limited to one region or one economic
sector; rather, it is a new speed that can be used widely in the name of Chosun.”
Conversely, in Rodong Sinmun on June 20th,
Kim Jong Un, then visiting Satellite Scientists’ Street in Pyongyang, was cited as declaring that quality assurance must “come first and second” on the list of construction priorities. He further said, “Complete these buildings perfectly under the slogan: ‘a thousand-year responsibility with a ten thousand-year guarantee.”
However, even at that time, little more than a month after the collapse, Kim also mentioned the
need for speed, saying, “The Party made a promise with the scientists that the
construction would be complete by October 10th, the anniversary of
the Party foundation.”
Kim’s words
indicate that the Chosun Workers’ Party’s temporary pitch for construction quality control has not sunk in. This is because, except in extreme circumstances such as the building
collapse in May, the incentive of the regime is to build rapidly in order to
generate vital “achievements” and consolidate Kim Jong Eun’s leadership. Slow and steady won’t win the race.
A senior defector told Daily NK on July 1st,
“Their ‘speed battles’
are a form of propaganda used since the Kim Il Sung era to try and promote the superiority
of the socialist system. Even if another accident were to take place, it wouldn’t
be easy to give up on the ‘Chosun Speed’ of the Kim Jong Eun era.”
He confirmed, “It is
because the authorities are obsessed with showing achievements to the people in
order to seize public opinion and stabilize the regime.”
