Flood stricken North Korea is being offered from the South’s Red Cross, in the form of 5000 tons of rice and 10 000 tons of cement, as well as 3 000 000 instant noodle packs (mmm..). This is the first time the South has extended any type of aid towards its neighbour since President Lee Myung-Bak took office in 2008. Lee has taken a hard stance against North Korea as one of his administration’s policies, and this has arguably lead to increased (but now thawing) tensions on the peninsula.
Popularly dubbed as the “Hotel of Doom” or “The Worst Building in the World” this famous eyesore is the most distinguishing feature of the Pyongyang skyline. This building is the Ryugyong Hotel, or “105 Building”. Standing at 330 metres in height, the hotel was anticipated to be the largest in the world (for it’s time) and construction was supposed to be completed in June 1989 for the World Festival of Youth and Students. Construction halted in 1992 due to equipment shortages and North Korea’s worst famine that prevailed through much of the 1990s.
The Westin Stamford in Singapore had been completed in 1986 by South Korean contractors, crowning it the world’s largest hotel. As is typical of North Korean one-upmanship, the DPRK decided if the South could accomplish this, then the North could do it better. The design was 3 pyramids, two smaller ones on the left converging into an enormous triangle. The architecture, like other buildings in the DPRK, is soviet-style poured concrete with rectangular, equally sized and spaced windows throughout, resembling the holes of a harmonica.
The top of the hotel is an upside down cone consisting of 14 levels (8 of which were meant to rotate for a 360 degree view of Pyongyang). It houses over 360 000 square feet of space. Revolving restaurants, casinos and night clubs were meant to be fixtures in the hotel operated by foreign firms. When construction was cancelled, the large concrete husk loomed on the skyline, construction crane still on top, for nearly 15 years. It has been long speculated that due to poor materials, a sunken foundation and crooked elevator shafts have rendered the building useless.
In 2008, Egyptian company Orascom had a contract to construct a 3G mobile network in Pyongyang. However, that work seems to have extended to refurbishing the derelict hotel. Work is well underway adding glass surfaces to the exterior of the building, and telecommunication antennas. Interior renovations are said to follow. The banner to this website features the Pyongyang skyline in February 2009, and you can note the “purple” looking glass panels and green scaffolding around the cone. Here is a picture of a picture of a render of the building upon its completion (rumoured to be around 2012): The video below shows a unique close-up view of the shoddy construction.
What’s next for this debacle of soviet-style engineering? Will it ever be completed, or will it remain empty and unused, only appearing fancy on the outside? In North Korea, you can only expect the unexpected…
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Amid thawing tensions on the peninsula, North Korea’s Red Cross has requested rice, cement and construction equipment from the South’s equivalent Red Cross. In what could be regarded as a gesture of “good will”, the North has released the South Korean fishing vessel “Daeseung 55” after a month of captivity. NK state media stated referred to the release as “A decision made based on fraternal love and from a humanitarian perspective.” This seems to indicate that the North is hopeful for aid from the South to cope with extensive and ongoing flooding near the Chinese border.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry has been tasked with studying the feasibility of a “Unification Tax”. President Lee Myung-bak announced the possibility of the tax to help fund the potential massive bill that would be associated with the North government collapsing and the South responsible for cleanup.
New estimates state that over 5500 houses have been destroyed, as well as 15000 hectares of farm land. The rain is expected to last at two more days. Evacuations on the Chinese border province of Jilin have exceeded 800000.
While hardly news, I felt the need to share this fascinating tidbit. SEK Studio, a DPRK animation studio has had animation subcontract work on classics cartoon movies such as the Lion King and Pocahontas. The communist nation is also famous for airing US made cartoon “Tom & Jerry”, as they use Tom as an analogy for the brash USA while Jerry represents a clever underdog North Korea.
Hwang Jang-yop, the highest ranking defector from North Korea, comments that most North Koreans are not as fond of Kim Jong-Il as western media might portray. He puts blame on South Koreans who support Kim Jong-Il. Hwang has previously lamented that 30% of South Korean youth do not blame NK for the sinking of the Cheonan last March. He also believes the succession of Kim Jong-Un to be primetime for a power struggle in the North, and markets may open up to the South leading to a smoother reunifications.
The US announced Monday that it intends to strengthen sanctions meant to stifle foreign funding for DPRK’s nuclear weapons program and the lavish lifestyles of its leader and top officials. Emphasis was placed on required cooperation from China, who is accused of “filling in” when sanctions are strengthened against the North. The sanctions, of course, are in place in the wake of conclusive investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan in March by a North Korean torpedo, killing 46 South soldiers.
Hundreds of homes and public buildings have been destroyed in the provinces of South Hamkyung Province, Gangwon Province, and Kaesong City throughout the month of July. Clean water supplies, bridges and communication lines have also been compromised, though no reports of food shortages have been made available.
160 luxury Chinese-made Mercedes cars have been given out by the “Dear Leader” to high ranking officials. This is notable because UN Security Council Resolution 1718 prohibits exporting luxury vehicles to the DPRK, and the gifts also come in wake of the September meeting of top party officials, where party loyalty is most certainly to be tested over the inevitable succession of Kim Jong-Un.
