Following is the full text of “Let Us Renovate Our Capital City Splendidly Once Again by Building 50 000 Flats”, the speech made by the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project for building 10 000 flats in Pyongyang on March 23, Juche 110 (2021):

All the builders and service personnel who have turned out in the honourable project for building up the capital city,

Today we are honoured to set up another meaningful landmark in the history of building up our capital city.

The Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party held early this year decided on building 50 000 flats in our capital city and, to this end, building 10 000 flats every year while pushing ahead with the construction of houses across the country in the five-year plan period.

The most worthwhile and glorious revolutionary task of the weighty and gigantic fighting tasks decided by the Party Congress will start to be undertaken full steam today.

Building 50 000 modern flats in Pyongyang, the capital city of our great country, is something our Party has long intended, made preparations for and aspired to do in order to provide the citizens of the capital city with more cultured and stabler living conditions.

The Party and the government acquainted themselves with the number of households that need houses and made an in-depth study of the measures for solving this problem. And they have regarded this project as their most important task.

Having accepted this colossal project willingly as an honourable revolutionary task which it must implement without fail however difficult the conditions and environment may be, the Party Central Committee reaffirmed its plan of architectural development and construction policy on the principle of applying the people-first principle more thoroughly.

It redefined the orientation and order of construction, ensured that a large share of the total state budget for construction was allocated for the construction of houses and, on the basis of plans and preparation to this end, made the construction of 50 000 flats a policy at its Eighth Congress.

This large-scale operation for building flats unfolded by our Party and state is not something for pursuing any economic profits; it is an ennobling undertaking to turn the assets of the state and fruits of creative labour of the working masses thoroughly into their benefits.

If we build from today 50 000 flats until 2025 when we will greet the 80th founding anniversary of the Party–10 000 flats every year–we will have almost 70 000 flats built, including over 16 000 flats now under construction, thus solving the housing problem of the citizens of the capital city once and for all.

Undertaking the project of building houses in the capital city in a bold way and on a large scale is of great significance also in demonstrating the unquenchable fighting spirit of our state and people that are advancing audaciously against manifold difficulties.

As you must all know, this project was decided after much thought.

To tell the truth, to undertake this large-scale project in the circumstances of today, when the challenges and difficulties are harsher than ever before, is something beyond imagination.

Construction of 10 000 flats this year is to be conducted in the circumstances completely different from when we started building Ryomyong Street five years ago; worse still, we have to do in a short time the amount of work many times larger than that of those days.

Our Party, however, decided to push ahead with the project unconditionally as it is directly related with the living of the citizens of the capital city and as it is an important political undertaking of the first year of implementing the decisions of the Party Congress to the letter.

We have the proud dignity and pluck that we are conducting a gigantic and wonderful project in the most trying days; we also have the self-confidence, experience and assets for surely carrying it out.

If the characteristic multistoried and skyscraping apartment houses which we see in the architectural formation plan now are built in these Songsin and Songhwa areas by the end of this year, the potential of our state and the creative strength of our people will be displayed to the full once again.

In the course of this, our Juche-oriented architecture will make another leap of development and our construction aimed at creating a new life of our own style by our own efforts and with our own hands will gain a bigger momentum.

The advanced architectural technologies and construction methods such as green architecture and dry-building methods will be introduced in an aggressive and innovative way, the foundations of the industrial bases that produce building equipment and materials will be further expanded and strengthened, and our construction units and builders will become more powerful and skilful.

The grand construction of today will be of monumental significance in the history of building the capital city.

The project of building 50 000 flats, which begins now, is a historic one of building modern, large-scale streets, expanding the urban areas of Pyongyang, the capital city, to the direction of east, west and north.

If 10 000 flats and distinctive public buildings are built every year in the areas of Songsin, Songhwa, Sopho, Kumchon and September 9 Street, respectively, the capital city of our state will witness a more magnificent change and they will become significant monuments, symbolic of the most arduous yet glorious third decade of the 21st century.

The citizens and their offspring who will live in the new streets we are building will remember down through the generations the builders of our era, who built the enormous architectural groups of world class by overcoming the worst trials, as heroic people.

Today’s large-scale construction is, indeed, a great undertaking for writing an era of glory in history.

Comrades,

Construction is an ensemble of the mental standard of the relevant era and the strength of the relevant nation and a long step towards civilization and development.

Today, when we are advancing to achieve prosperity and development upholding our state-first principle, this project will constitute a major thrust area symbolic of the era of a fresh upsurge and massive transformation in socialist construction.

Through this project, we will renovate the appearance of the capital city once again and usher in an era of fresh dynamic advance which will develop socialist construction by stage with confidence.

When mapping out this project of a massive scale, the Party Central Committee paid its primary attention to forming the major forces which would play the main, powerful role in the project.

What our Party Central Committee believed first when deciding on this project was none other than the revolutionary armed forces that are boundlessly faithful to the Party and the people.

While performing its mission and responsibility of staunchly defending the country and the people, the People’s Army has always played a big role also in creating the people’s happiness.

Only when the People’s Army which has performed heroic feats in numerous grand construction projects and in the theatres of rehabilitating damaged areas undertakes to a major project, can a sure victory be achieved in the overall construction projects.

I know our People’s Army better than anybody else.

I am convinced that the officers and men of the People’s Army will fully prove themselves worthy of the expectations of the Party and the people with thoroughgoing implementation by giving full play to their militant temperament in this creative struggle of construction, too.

Also participating in the current grand construction are the major civilian construction units including the Capital City Construction Commission, High-Speed Youth Shock Brigade, Revolutionary Site Construction Bureau and External Construction Bureau that have performed remarkable feats at major construction projects like that of building Ryomyong Street.

Success or failure in this grand construction depends on the commanding officials, service personnel and civilian builders who are in direct charge of it.

The construction policy and guidance of our Party and state are ultimately translated into reality by the creative enthusiasm and endeavour of every commanding official, and the Party places its belief first in the ardent patriotic spirit and skills of our builders.

The task facing the sector of designing is most important.

Construction itself is a highly creative undertaking, and buildings are now getting formative, artistic, multi-functional and intelligent. This adds to the importance of designing.

What our Party asks of the sector of designing is that a single dot or a line placed on a blueprint should reflect the ideology, soul and vibrant spirits of our times and embody the lofty ideals and standards of civilization that can proudly lead the world.

In accordance with the street formation plan and the designing plan which have already been decided and issued, the designers should draw up all the designs of the project on a perfect level to fully embody the Party’s idea on architectural beauty, and hand them over to the construction sector as soon as possible.

All the construction units responsible for building operations should start construction work without delay and execute their daily, weekly and monthly plans without fail according to schedule to complete the frameworks of the buildings in their charge within the first half of this year in the main.

All the construction detachments and units should regard it as their main task to improve the quality of construction, and consistently hold fast to the principle of ensuring quality throughout the whole process of construction work.

When all the officials and builders always maintain the stance and attitude that their loyalty, patriotism and conscience will be verified by the Party, state, people, posterity and history, all structures can become excellent creations of our times both in name and reality.

The construction supervision sector should enhance its role so as to ensure that the construction policy of the Party and state is executed and the people’s demands and interests and the stability of architecture are thoroughly met.

It is necessary to supply on a top priority and timely basis the materials and equipment needed for the construction of 10 000 flats.

Factories and enterprises assigned for the production of cement, steel materials and various other building materials and equipment should fulfil their production quotas satisfactorily on schedule by giving fullest play to the revolutionary enthusiasm and creativity of the working class, thus ensuring the success of the construction of the flats in the capital city.

The railway and other transport sectors should also launch a vigorous campaign for increased transport to ensure prompt transportation of the materials needed by the grand construction sites in the capital city and by the production bases of steel and other building materials.

We should give precedence to political work and ideological offensive in all undertakings so as to give full play to the loyalty, patriotism and creative wisdom of the soldiers of the People’s Army and other builders, and make all the construction sites seethe with a high spirit from the beginning to the end of the projects.

In this way, we can not only enlist the masses in the worthwhile struggle for construction, but also turn the present gigantic capital city construction sites just into fierce revolutionary battlefields and excellent schools that produce a new spirit of the times and train brave practitioners and stalwart socialist working people.

We should also attach utmost importance to taking good care of the health and life of the soldiers and other builders engaged in construction.

In keeping with the requirements of the state epidemic prevention emergency system, it is necessary to build epidemic prevention stations and facilities and establish a climate of observing the epidemic prevention regulations voluntarily and thoroughly throughout the construction sites. Utmost concern should be directed to preventing all kinds of accidents and disasters and making the builders engage in their work without feeling any inconvenience.

Supply service for the soldiers and other builders should not be left only to the units concerned, but the state supply system should be scrupulously organized so that the exact amount of supply for each builder is given to him.

Comrades,

Today we are breaking ground for this project, but some months later a new street for the people, a splendid architectural group we will all feel proud of, will be built in this area.

Nothing is more worthwhile and honourable and happier than to unhesitatingly dedicate our sweat and passion to building an ideal street which will be a dear cradle for nobody else but our people who are the best and greatest in the world.

For the future of our capital which will become more beautiful and magnificent,

For our parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who will create and enjoy there a new civilization to their heart’s content, and

For the brilliant implementation of the decisions of the Eighth Party Congress,

Let us all fight vigorously.