▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends the groundbreaking ceremony for a construction project in Unnyul County under his signature regional development policy on Jan. 29, 2026, in this Korean Central News Agency photo released the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This image by the Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 30, 2026, shows a groundbreaking ceremony for a construction project in Unnyul County under North Korea's regional development policy, held the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

NK leader-regional development

N. Korea's Kim attends ceremony for this year's 1st regional development project

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a construction project, the first this year under his regional development drive, saying his policy will transform one-third of the country, state media said Friday.

Kim attended the ceremony the previous day to mark the start of a regional development construction project in Unnyul County in South Hwanghae Province, and dug the first spadeful of earth, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, announcing the first regional construction campaign for 2026.

Kim began his signature regional development policy in 2024, pledging to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties across the country every year for a 10-year period, in a bid to improve living standards for the people.

"This is the third year for implementing the regional development policy, and public health facilities and leisure complexes, together with regional-industry factories, will be built in 20 regions of the country including this Unnyul County," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying at the ceremony.

"This means that nearly one-third of the cities and counties across the country will have been transformed," he said.

The leader said the policy is a "testimony to our firm will to transform and improve the people's living fundamentally and simultaneously throughout the country," adding that it also demonstrates the country's development potential.

Kim also extended thanks to soldiers mobilized at construction sites under the policy, calling them "creators of the people's wellbeing."

"I am sure that our party, whose political ideal is the people-first principle, will continue ... to tap all potentialities for regional development and carry out the annual plans for it in a forceful and thoroughgoing way," Kim noted.

While visiting sites related to the regional development policy, Kim has touted its results on several occasions recently in what was seen as an effort to drum up public support as the country prepares to hold a key party congress possibly next month.

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]