SEOUL– North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to mark the completion of building a greenhouse farm in the country’s eastern province on a key party anniversary, Pyongyang’s state media said Tuesday.
A day earlier, Kim took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm in Hamju County, South Hamgyong Province, on the occasion of the 77th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
In his speech, Kim called for the construction of more large-scale greenhouse farms across the country in a bid to push for the country’s agricultural development, the KCNA said.
In February, Kim instructed officials to complete the construction of the farm, built on the site of an airfield, by the party anniversary.
The farm has more than 850 blocks of modernized hydroponic and soil-based greenhouses covering 280 hectares and also houses some 1,000 homes, schools and other facilities, according to the North’s media.
By making an unusual trip to the rural area on the key anniversary, Kim apparently intended to show that he cares about the people’s lives amid chronic food shortages aggravated by frequent heavy rains and the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said.
Meanwhile, the North’s media reports showed the country had held various cultural events to celebrate the anniversary, but there were no military parades or major political events.
Kim inspected tactical nuclear drills that took place from Sept. 25 through Oct. 9 to assess the simulated use of nukes in response to the latest joint military drills by South Korea and the United States, the KCNA reported.
Source: Yonhap News Agency