North Korean authorities carried out an emergency evacuation in South Pyongan province this month after a newly built apartment building showed signs of imminent collapse, and have since detained a construction section chief blamed for pushing the project through with unsafe, rushed construction methods.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK on Monday that serious signs of collapse risk were recently discovered in a new three-story apartment building in Pyongwon county, even though the building had formally passed its completion inspection at the end of last month. In response, county safety department officers rushed to evacuate both residents who had already moved in and people passing near the building in the predawn hours of mid-July, the source said.
According to the source, the building’s management had already issued move-in certificates, and some residents were living there when the danger emerged. As the region’s summer rainy season weakened the ground beneath the structure and cracks began spreading across its exterior walls, the county safety department immediately warned of the danger, evacuated residents and completely blocked off the surrounding road.
The scene turned chaotic in the early morning hours, the source said, as safety officers shouted for people to evacuate and residents rushed outside without time to grab their belongings. Displaced residents reportedly stood helplessly outside the cordoned-off area, unsure what to do next.
Blame falls on a rushed construction campaign
The source attributed the near-disaster to Pyongwon county’s push to complete a construction assignment handed down from the central government within a fixed deadline, using soldiers and shock brigades, mobilized labor units North Korea often deploys on tight construction and production timelines, to build the apartment through a so-called speed battle, a mobilization-style campaign that prioritizes rushing projects to completion over following proper procedure.
Construction crews reportedly skipped proper foundation compaction and concrete curing periods to keep pace with the rushed timeline, and officials overseeing the project concealed the substandard work well enough to pass a nominal completion inspection in June. But as the rainy season set in, the ground beneath the building began to subside and the exterior walls developed serious cracks, exposing defects that had been hidden during the inspection process.
The county safety department moved into emergency response mode as the risk of collapse escalated, and local officials reported the incident to the central government, which ordered a more thorough re-inspection process over the next three months, the source said.
“Central government authorities determined that responsibility for this incident lies entirely with the construction officials who led the shoddy work and failed to properly supervise it,” the source said, adding that authorities dismissed the construction section chief on the spot and ordered him detained for investigation.
Authorities transferred the detained official to the county prosecutors’ office, where investigators are scrutinizing allegations that he diverted construction materials and ignored proper technical procedures to rush the project to completion, the source said. Local observers reportedly believe he is unlikely to escape an exemplary punishment meant to serve as a warning to others.
“People who had dreamed of moving into a new apartment were devastated and furious to see it turn into a near-collapsed eyesore overnight,” the source said. “People are asking who they’re supposed to trust to live safely when a building can pass its completion inspection and still nearly collapse before anyone has even properly moved in, and residents who witnessed the predawn evacuation are now anxious that their own homes could give way at any time.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
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