N. Korean elite in rare apology after house collapse
Print Edition
SENIOR North Korean officials have publicly apologized for an “unimaginable” accident at an apartment construction site, state media said yesterday.
South Korean officials said the incident involved the collapse of a 23-story apartment building in Pyongyang’s Pyongchon district, which already had close to 100 families in residence.
It is extremely unusual for North Korea to report negative news of this type.
Leader Kim Jong Un “sat up all night, feeling painful” after being told about the accident, the KCNA news agency said.
The accident happened last Tuesday and was the result of “irresponsible” supervision by officials in charge of construction, the official KCNA reported.
An intensive operation had been mounted to rescue survivors and treat the wounded, it said.
It did not give a figure for the number of dead or injured but said the accident left Pyongyang citizens “greatly shocked.”
The agency carried lengthy public apologies by senior officials, including Minister of People’s Security Choe Pu Il.
“(Choe) repented of himself, saying that he failed to find out factors that can put at risk the lives and properties of the people and to take thoroughgoing measures, thereby causing an unimaginable accident,” it said.
A South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident involved the collapse of a 23-story apartment complex.
“It is common in North Korea that people move into a new apartment building before construction officially ends,” he said.
The official said 92 families were believed to be living in the collapsed building.
Among those making a public apology were Kim Su Gil, chief secretary of the city committee of the ruling Workers’ Party.
The rare official apology appears to be aimed at portraying Kim as a “sincere leader who pays great attention to public sentiment,” said Kim Yong-hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Dongguk University.
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