North Korea is now nearly a week past Kim Jong Un’s original deadline to open the new Pyongyang General Hospital, and there are still no signs of an opening ceremony or of finished construction.

The hospital could still open in the coming days or weeks, but other signs suggest that the project will be delayed until early Jan. 2021, around the time of the Eighth Party Congress. 

The Pyongyang General Hospital is set to become the country’s largest medical facility, with Kim Jong Un demanding that it become the capital’s first modern general hospital modeled after advanced facilities in foreign countries.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS 

Construction began in March after Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital, where he set a deadline for the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on Oct. 10.

But as of Oct. 16, state media had yet to report on any opening ceremony. Kim is expected to cut the ribbon given that it is one of the country’s premier construction projects for 2020. 

Satellite imagery also suggests that the project was delayed. A comparison of Planet Labs medium-resolution images taken before and after last weekend’s national celebrations show that a large complex of temporary structures related to construction is still standing.

North Korea typically clears these temporary structures before officially opening large projects. For example, Planet Labs images show that a similar complex established near Pyongyang’s Ryomyong Street project site in 2016 was taken down more than two weeks before its Apr. 13, 2017 opening ceremony. 

The last time state media mentioned the Oct. 10 deadline for the Pyongyang General Hospital was on Sept. 12, when the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that work on most exterior elements of the buildings were in “the final stage.”

Earlier this month, 38 North confirmed the advanced state of exterior work using satellite imagery.

SIGNS OF A DELAY

Amid the quietly-missed deadline, state media is sending mixed messages over the status of the new modern hospital and the possibility that the project was delayed.

On one hand, state media coverage still heavily featured the hospital in propaganda for the 75th anniversary holiday. For example, the hospital appeared in a special postage stamp released for the holiday, in an animated outdoor light show and in an intricate propaganda parade float on Oct. 10. 

It appeared that the KCNA even tried to boast about the hospital’s construction in relation to the holiday, despite it not being completed in time. An article published on Oct. 15 characterized it as part of a “heated-up drive of self-reliance and self-prosperity in all fields” ahead of the 75th anniversary celebrations.

In this parade float promoting state policies on improving living standards, the hospital appeared alongside the Yangdok Hot Springs resort — a construction project completed in late 2019. | Image: KCTV

But there were also earlier signs that the project was running into problems that threatened its extraordinarily fast six-and-a-half-month construction window.

During his second and most recent public visit in July, Kim reportedly said that project planning was “careless” and lacked a proper budget. 

NK News then reported last month that North Korean embassies and affiliated organizations sought advanced medical equipment to furnish the hospital. This task was likely slowed down by economic sanctions as well as North Korea’s self-imposed import blockade, which is related to fears over the spread of COVID-19. 

Kim Jong Un also alluded to a possible delay in key construction projects like the hospital in early September. At a military meeting that month, Kim said that the country had to “change the direction” of year-end economic plans after a series of typhoons caused severe damages nationwide.

Meanwhile, the hospital was featured prominently in a series of new propaganda posters released for the upcoming Eighth Party Congress, once again hinting at a possible revised deadline for Jan. 2021.

The congress is expected to be held just after the recently-initiated nationwide “80-day battle.” Earlier this week, state television suggested that the campaign to complete year-end economic tasks, including construction projects, will wrap up on Dec. 30 or 31. 

WIDER CONSTRUCTION DELAYS

North Korea also likely delayed other projects originally meant for Oct. 10. 

The following projects might instead be finished by the Jan. 2021 Eighth Party Congress or even later: the Chongchongang-Phyongnam Irrigation Waterway, the Orangchon Power Station, the Tanchon Power Station, and the final stage of completely rebuilding the politically-important Samjiyon region near Mount Paektu.

Kim also ordered workers to complete new homes meant for victims of August and September’s floods and typhoons by the Eighth Party Congress deadline. State media announced that some of these projects were completed around or before Oct. 10, but has refrained from declaring victory on the project as a whole.

Meanwhile, another “modern” hospital elsewhere in the country was officially completed this week, according to the KCNA. The outlet reported that the Samjiyon City People’s Hospital opened on Oct. 15 with “full provision of ultra-modern medical equipment and apparatuses in all sections.” 

This comes over eight months after another ceremony was held there to celebrate receiving this equipment from Kim Jong Un. The exterior work on this hospital appeared complete in images released at the time, despite remaining unopened until this week. 

Other examples of the slow pace of finishing large-scale construction projects in North Korea include the recently-opened Myohyangsan Medical Appliances Factory and the sprawling Wonsan-Kalma tourist resort zone. Both of these missed Kim Jong Un’s deadlines by wide margins, and the beach resort remains stalled without many updates in state media this year.

Some of the remaining incomplete projects may not open by the Eighth Party Congress, either, as construction units have been diverted from Wonsan Kalma, Samjiyon (the 216 Division) and the Tanchon Power Station to housing reconstruction sites.