New multi-floor additional offices for the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK are currently underway in central Pyongyang, photos recently taken and exclusively acquired by NK Pro show.

“Additional Office for the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK,” banners on the project read.

The official English name of the building has not been revealed yet, as Pyongyang has remained silent on the issue.

Once finished, this new facility will most likely work to enhance Pyongyang’s diplomatic reach and lawmaking procedures, two elements crucial for its economic development, a long-time North Korea watcher told NK Pro.

Having visited the city during earlier October, a photographer – who wanted to remain anonymous – provided the pictures to NK Pro upon their return.

The photos indicate the building is located somewhere in the center of Pyongyang, yet were provided without any information to pinpoint its location.

The resolution of the banners was relatively low, but NK Pro could partially read some of the relevant data about the building after the image adjustment process.

One of the banners showed that construction phase for the building is divided into three steps.

The first step seems to have started on May 21 and to last until August 31. The letter “foundation” could be read, possibly referring to the foundation work of the building.

The second step started on September 1 and lasted until October 3. The letter “frame” could be read, indicating it is possibly the frame building phase.

The last step has begun from October 5 to an unclear date in November, showing that the building would be soon finished, possibly within a month from the publication of this article.

Pyongyang has so far been silent about the progress of the building. KCNA Watch’s advanced search result, with the keywords “additional office” or “additional, the Supreme People’s Assembly”, not yielding any results.

The location of the construction zone could not be identified from the photos.

However, expert opinion, satellite analysis and additional information from the banners assisted in estimating the possible location for this new building.

“As it is the additional office to the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, it would most likely be located near the Mansudae Assembly Hall,” Cha Du-hyeogn, a former intelligence secretary to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told NK Pro.

Taken on May 11 this year, the latest satellite imagery from Google Earth showed that buildings near Mansudae Hall remain untouched, with no signs of any foundation works having begun.

Should the date on the banner be correct, this image was taken exactly ten days before the beginning of construction.

However, images provided by Planet.com, taken on October 25, showed that the existing building shown in Google Earth had been deconstructed, to be built with the new one as seen in the photo.

As the North has not announced any information regarding this construction project, the possibility remains open that the building in the circle is not what NK Pro has presumed.

Other images from Planet.com also suggested that the progress of construction seen on June, August, September and October all corresponded with what was described on the banners.

Should the building in the circle be the new office, it means that North Korea has deconstructed the existing buildings and finished the foundation and frameworks within five to six months since the initiation of the process.

A leadership expert said the building would most likely be occupied by North Korean officials working in the country’s diplomatic and legislative processes.

“As it is an ‘additional office’ I don’t think it will be occupied by top personnel like Kim Yong Nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea,” Cheong Seong-chang, senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, told NK Pro.

“If the building is finished sometime during the upcoming month, then it will be able to function as intended from around January next year,” he said.

Cheong said that this new building could be the result of the Seventh Congress of the Workers Party of Korea held in May.

“During the congress, Kim Jong Un announced the need to develop the economy further, and the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK is what controls the two most elements to make that possible: diplomacy and legislation.”

Edited by: Oliver Hotham

Featured Image: NK Pro.