SEOUL, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said a sweeping regional development initiative is on track to "transform" the country, declaring that nearly one-third of its cities and counties will be remade under the program as he presided over a groundbreaking ceremony, state media reported Friday.
Kim attended Thursday's event at Unnyul County in South Hwanghae Province to launch this year's first construction project under his signature development drive. The policy, unveiled in 2024, calls for building modern factories and other facilities annually for a decade, an effort he says will improve living standards nationwide.
"This is the third year for implementing the regional development policy, and public health facilities and leisure complexes, together with regional-industry factories, will be built in 20 regions," Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "This means that nearly one-third of the cities and counties across the country will have been transformed."
KCNA said Kim shoveled the first spadeful of earth and pressed a detonator to set off a "thrilling explosion" at the construction site. He praised soldiers mobilized for the project as "creators of the people's wellbeing."
