In his public address celebrating the centenary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on Sunday, Kim Jong Eun claimed that the ‘foundation for strength and prosperity has been laid’ in North Korea, yet many citizens are now pointing to the irregular supply of tap water even in the capital, Pyongyang, as evidence that the government’s claims are nothing more than bluster.
On Wednesday, Daily NK spoke with a source from Pyongyang by telephone, who recalled that “Even on the morning of April 15 people had to fetch their own water because nothing was coming out of the taps.”
“I wonder how long it will be before we have the benefits of proper tap water? What good is it talking about prosperity and improving people’s lives when they can’t even fix the water issue?” the sourced lamented.
“And if this is what it’s like in Pyongyang, what must it be like in other places?” the source continued. “Meanwhile those who are entitled to rations at factories and businesses got special rations for the holiday, with up to 15 dishes including sticky rice.”
The source, who lives in the Morangbong area of the capital, added that “For many residents of Pyongyang, people who live outside of the centre of town have to go down to the first floor of their high-rise apartment buildings to get water.”
“We can’t even get proper supplies of electricity or water and yet the government was happy to throw a fortune down the Taedong River,” the source added, lamenting the government’s willingness to spend a huge sum of money on a gaudy fireworks display celebrating the hundredth anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth.
The source said that even on what is the biggest public holiday in North Korea, high-rise dwellers could be seen carrying 20 liter containers of water up 10 to 20 flights of stairs; an issue they say has led to no small public discontent. Even Party cadres from important government agencies – usually at the front of the queue when rations are handed out – are able to receive no special favors when it comes to the water situation, meaning that even the usually-privileged have to wait their turn in line at communal waterholes from 5 o’clock in the morning.
According to the source, it’s not just residents of high-rise buildings who are feeling the pain of the water situation either, with those living in smaller buildings just as inconvenienced. “If the electricity isn’t on in one area then water can’t be supplied there either, so if word gets out that water is available somewhere else then people carry their containers all the way across town to get some, no matter how far away it is.”
For a country with well-known electricity shortages, North Korea’s water supply is strangely reliant on the provision of power. If there isn’t enough electricity to power water pumps at catchment facilities, then the supply to ordinary households is interrupted. Furthermore, even when the supply is functioning well from the source, pumps in localized areas of town also need to be operating to ensure the continuity of supply.
The deterioration of North Korea’s water supply has also been caused in part by old piping. The network of pipes buried 1.5 meters underground has been neglected for decades, leading to widespread corrosion, blockages and leaks.
As is often the case, the public has a sardonic wit that helps deal with the daily pitfalls of life. Our source says that many people now call tap water ‘spring water’, a teasing term suggesting that any water which makes it to the end of the system must have trickled down from a high altitude without the help of electricity.
