N. Korea enacts urban development law to provide better living conditions
This image, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television on Jan. 16, 2024, shows the North's Supreme People's Assembly meeting the previous day in Pyongyang. Yonhap
North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament has enacted an urban development law aimed at modernizing city environments to provide better living conditions for the people, the North's state media reported Monday.
The "city formation and development law," aimed at modernizing central and regional cities, has been reviewed and adopted at a standing committee session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The KCNA said the enactment is intended to "transform the appearance and environment of cities to meet the demand of the times and provide greater living conditions for the people."
No further details about the enactment were reported, but the law appears designed to tighten the North Korean regime's overall control of urban developments and to prevent urban sprawl.
It also comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to reaffirm his signature regional development drive at a key party congress early next year.
Under the Regional Development 20X10 Policy, launched last year, Kim aims to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year over a 10-year period to improve the living conditions in regional areas.