N. Korea's Kim inspects service facilities set to open at new housing area in Pyongyang

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) visits a pet shop being prepared to open in the fourth-stage area of the Hwasong district in Pyongyang, accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae, in this photo from the Korean Central News Agency on April 3, 2026. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) visits an automobile service center being prepared for opening in the fourth-stage area of the Hwasong district Pyongyang, accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae, in this photo from the Korean Central News Agency on April 3, 2026. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

NK leader-city development

N. Korea's Kim inspects service facilities set to open at new housing area in Pyongyang

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected various service facilities set to open at a new housing district in Pyongyang, including car repair, pet and hair shops, touting them as a valuable foundation for a "socialist civilization," state media said Friday.

Kim visited service facilities being prepared for opening at the fourth-stage area of the Hwasong district in the capital, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The Hwasong district is a newly refurbished housing area where a total of 40,000 housing units were built through four consecutive construction projects under Kim's guidance from 2022 to 2025.

The fifth-stage construction was launched in February, and at a subsequent ruling party congress, the leader ordered the city to be developed into a model administrative unit with perfect political, economic and cultural functions.

Kim visited an automobile technology service center, a pet shop, a musical instrument shop and a hair salon during the recent inspection, the KCNA said. Photos released showed Kim's daughter Ju-ae, believed to be groomed as his heir as state leader, accompanying him on the visit, along with his wife, Ri Sol-ju.

He praised the automobile repair center for being "furnished with modern equipment," hailing it as a result of the ruling party's policy to expand new service categories aimed at improving the people's material and cultural welfare.

At the pet shop, he referred to the growing trend of pet ownership in the country and stressed the need to expand pet-related production, while at the hair salon, he described welfare amenities as "essential" for ensuring a highly civilized living environment in urban districts.

"It is a responsible undertaking ... to manage and operate the leisure facilities well so that they would serve as a valuable foundation for the development of socialist civilization," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

Kim also ordered the shops to open on the occasion of the Day of the Sun, the birth anniversary of the national founder, his grandfather Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15.

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