Hundreds of North Koreans may have died in a building accident after a 23-story apartment complex housing reportedly collapsed on May 13 due to slipshod construction.
North Korean officials issued an apology Sunday via the state-run Korean Central News Agency, taking responsibility for the collapse of the building in Pyongyang. An apology is extremely rare for the hermit nation which has total control over the information that’s available to its citizens, most of whom have no access to the internet.
KCNA, which virtually operates for the sole purpose of glorifying the communist regime, expressed its “profound consolation” for the tragedy and also heavily criticized Choe Pu Il, the minister of people’s security. The agency called Choe “can never be pardoned” for his crime and added that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un “sat up all night” in grief.
Although no photos of the accident site were published, Sunday’s newspaper showed an official bowing to a crowd of people in apology.
Attributing an anonymous report, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the collapsed apartment complex wasn’t complete, but that it is not unusual in North Korea for people to move into a building while construction is underway.
North Korea didn’t issue a death toll, but because North Koreans generally have families of four and 92 families reportedly resided in the building, hundreds are believed to have died in the accident. An “intensive” rescue operation was launched after the accident, which ended Saturday, according to the North.
Those who defected North Korea in recent years say that construction accidents aren’t uncommon in labor sites located outside Pyongyang, but a collapse of a residential complex in the capital city is rare. Pyongyang is available exclusively to the country’s “loyal” class as its limited resources are pulled to decorate the city as the showpiece of the communist regime.
The recent tragedy in Pyongyang occurred while North Korea has been criticizing South Korea for its response to a capsized ferry which contained more than 300 people who are either confirmed dead or still missing.
