North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a greenhouse farm construction site along the country’s border with China on Friday, and encouraged youths and troops working on the construction in the new year, state media KCNA said on Saturday. The visit to the Sinuiju Greenhouse Complex, which faces China’s Dandong across the Amnok River, marks one of Kim’s first public engagements of 2026.
Why It Matters
This inspection is part of a series of recent visits by Kim to military and economic facilities ahead of the key Ninth Party Congress of the Workers’ Party, expected to convene early this year to set out major policy goals. The location itself is significant, as the Sinuiju area had been hit by flood damage in 2024, making its reconstruction and transformation into a modern agricultural hub a symbolic project for the regime.
What to Know
- The Visit: Kim Jong Un, accompanied by senior party and defense officials, visited the construction site on January 2. He delivered a congratulatory speech and took a tour of the complex, which is in its final stages of landscaping.
- The Project: The Sinuiju Greenhouse Complex is a large-scale agricultural project intended to transform a disaster-affected area into a modern “greenhouse town.” State media reported that the huge construction and equipment assembly have been “completed perfectly.”
- The Workers: The site is being built by young vanguard members and soldier-builders. Kim praised their “boundless patriotism” and “heroic struggle,” stating they chose hardship over comfort for a “worthwhile choice of their youth.”
What People Are Saying
In his speech, Kim directly addressed the workers, framing their efforts in ideological terms. “I wanted to spend the beginning of 2026 with my comrades who are greeting the new year at the northwest tip of our country, so I rushed here as soon as the central event was over,” he said, according to the KCNA report. He further lauded the project as demonstrating “the truthfulness of the self-sustenance and its great power” and praised the Korean youth as unparalleled in the world.
The state media narrative portrayed an emotional scene, describing workers “filled with great excitement and joy” and cheering “with great reverence” for the leader who chose their site for his first visit of the new year.
What Happens Next
Kim Jong Un set a clear political deadline for the project’s completion, stating the greenhouse complex is “nearing the moment when it will be presented as a gift of loyalty to the glorious Congress of the motherly Party.” He promised to take a commemorative photo with the workers on its inauguration day and indicated that the Ninth Congress would “greet the proud young people” in Pyongyang. The visit underscores the regime’s focus on showcasing economic development and youth mobilization as it prepares for a major political gathering.
