The Cabinet’s Ministry of State Construction Control examined four-story-plus buildings from Dec. 1–15, focusing on unstable ground in North Pyongan province’s thick mud layer, with orders to file emergency police reports for discrepancies without administrative procedures.
“The government ordered all provinces, cities and counties to carry out intensive safety inspections of all new residential buildings, emphasizing that the authorities made an extensive nationwide push to build housing this year to complete one of the Eighth Party Congress’s tasks,” a source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently.
The latest inspection was conducted by the Cabinet’s Ministry of State Construction Control from Dec. 1 to 15, focusing on basic building safety.
According to the source, in North Pyongan province, the inspection specifically examined completed residential buildings with four or more stories to ensure they met construction guidelines in line with the region’s particular geology — namely, its thick layer of mud.
This reflects the province’s desire to reexamine whether builders had adhered to high-rise construction limits on unstable ground issued years ago by the provincial authorities.
In particular, residential buildings newly built in the provincial capital, Sinuiju, and nearby cities accounted for the lion’s share of inspected buildings.
Excavation logs examined amid repeated land subsidence suspicions near Sinuiju
“Given the repeated suspicions of land subsidence that have emerged in some areas near Sinuiju, the Ministry of State Construction Control and its provincial branch are simultaneously inspecting how the headquarters of construction brigades that built housing in local cities and counties conducted basic land quality tests, as well as how they conducted the actual construction,” the source said.
He added that inspections are conducted based on excavation logs that record the depth at which mud appears beneath the foundation of each building, and that if a building is identified as having unstable ground or if there are discrepancies between supervision records and contractors’ testimony, officials should immediately file an emergency report to the police without going through administrative procedures.
The measure reflects a policy to hold people to account where public safety concerns arise ahead of the party’s plenary meeting, while public safety agencies are already considering plans to deal with incidents swiftly should buildings come under serious fire from party officials for safety problems.
City and county governments are considering contingency plans to quickly evacuate properties when incidents occur without sparking public insecurity, as well as plans to shore up structures during incidents.
“The provincial branch of the Ministry of State Construction Control stresses that revolutionary measures that prioritize public safety must become a reality through the latest inspections,” the source said. “The results of the inspections will be reported to Pyongyang by mid-December.”
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