Construction appears to be in a state of chronic stagnancy at the site of what was once intended to become the East Pyongyang Shopping Mall, recent pictures and satellite imagery seen by NK Pro show.

The would-be mega-mall was being constructed in cooperation with the Hong Kong-based Great China International Group, North Korean state media reporting from a ground-breaking ceremony at the site in January 2014 said.

The project represented one of the most visible signs of new Chinese investment following the ouster of Jang Song Thaek in late 2013.

However, like the foreign-backed and