The lower Yalu River region was swept by major floods in late July last year. Observing the newly built apartments constructed through rush work on Wihwa Island in Sinuiju, Pyongan Province—where embankment construction continues—through ultra-telephoto cameras revealed people on balconies, laundry, houseplants, and other faint signs of life. Although North Korea continues to suffer from power shortages, these apartments built facing the Chinese side are brightly illuminated at night, with even the exteriors lit up. It seems this is all an attempt to show off that reconstruction has been completed in splendid fashion. (ASIAPRESS Editorial Team)
＜Super-telephoto Lens Report> One Year After Floods, What Does the Site Look Like Now? (1) Rows of New Apartments... But Look Closely and Tiles Are Already Falling Off (10 Photos)
◆Laundry, Corn... Some Faint Signs of Life
Aside from soldiers mobilized for construction, no people were visible to the naked eye. However, observing through ultra-telephoto cameras, faint signs of life were transmitted—laundry and corn drying on balconies, houseplants displayed, and so on.
Occasionally, people hanging laundry on balconies or looking out windows could also be seen.
Signs for general stores, libraries, clinics, tailor shops, etc. hung on the first floor sections of apartments, but the interiors were empty, appearing not yet operational. Some apartments had occupants up to the higher floors. In one apartment, there was a child relieving themselves on a balcony. Sewage systems and toilets appeared not yet properly installed. Judging from the absence of air conditioner outdoor units visible on exterior walls, there doesn’t appear to be air conditioning units installed.
◆No Barbed Wire, But... Border Management with Guns and Knives
Barbed wire installed along almost the entire nearly 1,400 km North Korea-China border became even more stringent during the COVID pandemic. However, it was not installed along the riverbank in front of the new apartment complex. Directly in front of the apartments is where Chinese tourist cruise ships pass. They may have judged that rows of "apartments surrounded by barbed wire" would not look good aesthetically. Perhaps as a substitute, border guards carrying guns and radios were patrolling the riverbank.
