You wouldn’t know it by the smile on his face in these photos, but Pyongyang’s shiny new international airport has been plagued by defects, reportedly prompting Dear Leader 3.0 to execute its architect last year.
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The opening of the new airport, meant to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Worker’s Party, was designed by Ma Won Chun, North Korea’s director of the Designing Department of the National Defense Commission, according to Asian Correspondent.
Chun vanished last year and is thought to have perished in one of Kim Jong-un’s purges, with The Diplomat reporting that he was killed “for corrupt practices and a failure to follow orders”.
The Supreme Leader’s displeasure was evident in a recent statement: “Defects were manifested in the last phase of the construction of the Terminal 2 because the designers failed to bear in mind the party’s idea of architectural beauty that is the life and soul and core in architecture to preserve the character and national identity.”
Jong-un, however, seems to have put the past behind him, as he was all smiles in these press photos taken while he toured the new facilities last Wednesday.
