When ASIAPRESS's border reporting team visited Sinuiju in September 2025, the city's nighttime skyline appeared brighter than in years past. Streetlamps lit up the main roads through the city center, and even the outer walls of newly constructed apartment buildings on Wihwa Island were illuminated in a dazzling display.
Had North Korea's electricity situation actually improved?
A closer look revealed the answer: it was pure propaganda, staged for outside eyes. Residential neighborhoods deeper in the city — out of easy view from the Chinese side — were sunk in darkness. The same was true along other stretches of the border, including Hyesan in Ryanggang Province and Onsong in North Hamgyong Province, where little to no light could be seen in people's homes.
In January 2026, an ASIAPRESS reporting partner operating inside northern North Korea reported: "Power outages are still an everyday occurrence. Residents get electricity for about three hours a day."
While the Kim Jong-un regime wastes power on hollow displays of prosperity, ordinary people are spending their nights in the dark.
Full details are available in the video. (ASIAPRESS)
