Projects underway to promote Kim Jong Un¡¯s legacy as a leader ahead of the 7th Party Congress in May are said to be in full swing across the nation. One such project taking place in Ryanggang Province calls for the full mobilization of residents to build an orphanage as an expression of the leader¡¯s "love for the next generation," Daily NK has learned.

¡°Authorities have recently been harassing residents saying that the orphanage under construction next to Kim Jong Suk Teachers¡¯ College in Yonbong-dong needs to be ready for the Marshal¡¯s (Kim Jong Un) inspection by the time of the Party Congress,¡± a source in Ryanggang Province told Daily NK on Thursday. ¡°The provincial party office has been hurrying people along, claiming the construction must be completed before the event.¡±

Progress was said to be slow during the winter, which was unseasonably cold, but construction efforts are now appearing to ramp up.

The project is being driven by the provincial head secretary and other cadres from the provincial Party and People¡¯s Committee and is being promoted as a means to express loyalty to the leader, who has emphasized his "love for children," said the source.

She added that cadres associated with the efforts, who have confidently stated that the facility will see completion before the Party Congress, have also been intensifying crackdowns on those seeking to avoid mobilization, out of concern that failure to complete the project on time may lead to issues of accountability.

¡°Vendors who are busy trying to make a living in the market were often able to get out (of mobilization) with bribes, but even that isn¡¯t easy now,¡± a separate source in Ryanggang Province explained.

¡°The price for skipping a day of mobilization is now up to 10 RMB (13,000 KPW) a day per head, so some find it more affordable to just go to the construction site.¡±

The 13,000 KPW demanded is enough to purchase approximately 2kg of rice based on current prices, which is far from negligible for most members of the public. The higher price tag in effect acts as a tool to turn up the heat on people for mobilization.

The pressure to complete the project before the major political gathering has led to mobilization of students in the afternoons and workers at state-run factory as well.

The near full mobilization also involves specialized colleges, meaning that among the younger generation, stormtroopers (who are working on a railway project in Samjiyon) are seemingly the only group among ordinary residents that are exempt from the orphanage project.