[imText1]The North Korean media is in the midst of a propaganda drive to promote construction in the Mansudae area of Pyongyang, part of the regime\u2019s faltering push to build a \u2018Strong and Prosperous State\u2019.<\/p>\n
First, on the 21st, Chosun Central News Agency cited an editorial carried by the publication of the North Korean Cabinet, Minju Chosun, entitled \u2018Let\u2019s Push Mansudae Area Construction Forward Powerfully!\u2019 in which it asserted that Mansudae construction is \u201ca glorious piece of industry for the realization of Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il\u2019s grand plan.\u201d <\/p>\n
Two days later, on the 23rd, the publication produced by Chongryon in Japan, Chosun Shinbo described plans for the construction project in detail, while Chosun Central Broadcast, the state radio broadcaster, domestically reported the mobilization of young people to propel the construction forward by night. <\/p>\n
Then, just one day later on the 24th during an editorial about state policy to limit difficulties caused by the summer rainy season, Rodong Shinmun, the Chosun Workers\u2019 Party mouthpiece emphasized, \u201cWe have had the foresight to secure materials like aggregate and cement, so we must push construction forward constantly across all sites including residential construction in the Mansudae area,.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, yesterday\u2019s Rodong Shinmun, citing a statement from Kim Jong Il himself, went on to remind the people, \u201cConstruction in Pyongyang is not simply an issue of operational economics regarding the formation of roads and construction of homes, it is an important political issue related to the prestige of Socialist Chosun and dignity of the Kim Il Sung Motherland.\u201d<\/p>\n
This kind of propaganda push is aimed at ensuring the people are cogent of fact that modern buildings are being constructed by the authorities; an attempt to bring to life ongoing propaganda about the strong and prosperous state, which inside sources suggest is viewed with considerable public cynicism.<\/p>\n
According to the Chosun Shinbo piece dated June 23rd, the construction at Mansudae is set to include a complex of 14 new apartment buildings, including North Korea\u2019s tallest at 45 floors, a school, nursery and other public buildings. Elsewhere, there is a plan to pull down older construction in Mansu-dong and replace it with a park, and another to put up a modern cylindrical and square apartment building in the vicinity of Pyongyang Students’ and Children’s Palace.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, all the talk of modernity fits well with efforts to promote the youthful vigor of successor Kim Jong Eun, especially as it surrounds the statue of Kim Il Sung on Mansudae Hill, which is itself said to be undergoing a facelift.<\/p>\n
In yesterday\u2019s piece, Rodong Shinmun went on, \u201cAccording to the Party\u2019s grand capital construction plan, a fire of new Pyongyang creation is blazing violently in the ongoing Mansudae area construction,\u201d adding, \u201cAccording to this warlike strategy, in a short time, less than a month after it began, the groups taking part in the construction had achieved innovative results, digging the vast foundations of the new homes and laying the concrete.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, rumor has it that the reality does not meet the heights of this official propaganda, with the authorities having only managed to construct some 500 new residences in the period to the end of 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[imText1]The North Korean media is in the midst of a propaganda drive to promote construction in the Mansudae area of Pyongyang, part of the regime\u2019s faltering push to build a \u2018Strong and Prosperous State\u2019. First, on the 21st, Chosun Central News Agency cited an editorial carried by the publication of the North Korean Cabinet, Minju […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":15802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n