North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has sacked officials building a hospital after they pressed the public for contributions, media reported on Monday.
He severely rebuked them for burdening the people by encouraging all kinds of ‘assistance’ calling the incident a “serious digression” from party policy.
Kim Jong-Un ordered the Pyongyang General Hospital to be built by the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party in October, calling it a “top priority” in improving public health in the face of the novel Coronavirus.
But during his latest visit to the site, the North Korea leader fired a group of project managers, called the construction coordination commission, for failing to allocate a proper budget and supplying equipment and materials from ordinary citizens.
Kim Jong-Un praised builders on the project for making rapid progress despite “difficult situations” but told the party to “investigate the performance of the construction coordination commission as a whole and replace all the officials responsible.
A professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul said the sackings suggested a setback for a prestigious project and hinted at broader difficulties facing the economy.
North Korea has not reported any cases of the coronavirus but has taken intensive prevention measures, including a ban on gatherings, an order to wear masks, and mandatory quarantines for border workers.
