North Korea announces projects on ex leader's anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended ground-breaking ceremonies for showpiece housing and food projects on Wednesday, the anniversary of the birth of the country's former leader Kim Jong Il. The developments include skyscrapers and are usually completed very quickly, with huge groups of soldiers and civilians doing the work.

State media promote the completion of new apartments, but it is not clear if utilities like water and electricity are always available. At the greenhouse project ground-breaking, Kim Jong Un said providing people with vegetables in all seasons "is a top-priority important affair which the Party always pays deep attention to and strives to settle in coming years without fail," the Korean Central News Agency reported.