North Korea has launched a large-scale project to expand infrastructure for treating and storing water in Pyongyang, according to NK Pro analysis, as new housing construction in the capital appears set to strain already inadequate clean water supplies.

The DPRK has trumpeted a high-profile campaign to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang by 2025 to address an undefined “housing problem” and raise living standards, holding a ceremony to mark the completion of the first stage earlier this year.

But much of the capital’s water treatment facilities are decades old, and experts have long flagged problems with