North Korea has quietly begun efforts to repair North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s villa in Sinuiju, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Monday that repair work on Songhan Villa began in late July and that all areas within a 10-kilometer radius of the site have been closed off to the public.
The source said that the repairs are expected to take three months and that some people aware of the villa’s existence are speculating that the start of the maintenance work means Kim will be visiting China.
In fact, Songhan Villa is where late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il stayed when they conducted on-the-spot visits to various areas of Sinuiju. For example, when Kim Jong Il was travelling to or from China, he would stay at Songhan Villa and visit nearby industrial facilities such as tile factories and synthetic fiber plants, the Sinam-ri Farm in Ryongchon County, or other sites of interest, the source told Daily NK.
“The government considers Songhan Villa to be important. Since the Kim Il Sung era, Songhan Villa has received a great deal of attention. This time around, workers from the Central Committee Construction Bureau are working on the repairs because Kim Jong Un himself issued orders to modernize the villa.”
In the order, the North Korean leader emphasized the idea that successive generations must take care of Songhan Villa given it is located near beautiful mountains and boasts good-quality water, the source said.
“Sinuiju’s Songhan-dong district draws water from the spring water streams of Sokha-dong district, which is so famous for its good water that even Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory in Unjong-dong district uses it. Songhan Villa is believed to have good water because streams from Sokha-dong flow around it.”
Meanwhile, patrols have been intensifying control over the area surrounding the villa to ensure no one can observe what progress has been made in the repairs.
In fact, local people are avoiding the area altogether because patrols are flagging people down for taking cell phone photos of the site, the source said.
“Security is so tight that not even an ant could get in, so people say they have no idea what’s happening at Songhan Villa, and that they haven’t even seen the faces of the people working there.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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