Pyongyang subway system renovated with modern conveniences
The subway system in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has undergone a major facelift in recent years to add modern conveniences, a pro-North Korea media outlet reported Monday.
"The Pyongyang subway system is embracing new changes from the 2010s through the 2020s," said the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan.
It said remodeling was recently completed at several metro stations, including the Moranbong, Jonu and Pulgunbyol stations.
With high-domed ceilings and lamps brightening the interior, the subway stations and platforms in Pyongyang seen in images on the website of the Choson Sinbo stand in sharp contrast to a Yonhap News Agency photo taken in 1992, which depicted the system as a dark underground facility without benches or electronic information boards.
The latest Choson Sinbo photos showed subway platforms equipped with electronic information boards and TV monitors, with passengers reading newspapers or using smartphones on the brightly lit platforms.
North Korea launched the subway service in the capital in 1973, with national founder and then leader Kim Il-sung cutting the ribbon at the first-stage inauguration ceremony at Bonghwa Station in September that year.
Through three additional stages, the construction of the Pyongyang subway lines was completed in 1987, creating an underground network as deep as 150 meters that can serve as an emergency shelter resistant to nuclear attacks.
Incumbent North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the subway system in 2015 and issued detailed instructions to raise the ceilings, install benches and add modern conveniences, including TVs and automated ticket barriers.
The Pyongyang subway system was one of the destinations visited by Vitaly Shulika, Russia's deputy internal affairs minister, when he traveled to North Korea with a ministry delegation last month.
Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun also toured Puhung Station in February, along with embassy officials, expressing hope many Chinese travelers could visit and see the Pyongyang subway system to promote friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries. (Yonhap)
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