Goal 11

"Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable"

Cities have served as hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, and social development, and have allowed people to develop socially and economically. As the number of residents in the city is expected to increase to 5 billion by 2030, it is important to have efficient urban planning and management methods to solve the challenges caused by urbanization.

While not putting a burden on the land and resource sectors, there are many difficulties to solve in maintaining the city through job creation and joint prosperity. Common urban problems include insufficient management and operation costs, housing shortages, reduced living infrastructure, and increased air pollution in addition to urban congestion.

Rapid urbanization causes problems such as safe collection and disposal of solid waste in cities, but it can be overcome in a way that continues to develop and grow by improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. One such example is the increase in urban waste collection. Future cities should provide opportunities to use basic services, energy, housing, transportation, etc.

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In its presentation given at the Multi Stakeholder Forum in 2019, the DPRK government gave an overview of the progress and challenges to the achievement of SDG 11. The government shared that the continued natural disasters since the mid-1990s have resulted in a great loss to the socio-economic development of the country. It also candidly shared that the implementation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy and the local disaster reduction plans is off track, and that the government is facing major challenges in waste treatment in cities. As a result, the government listed six plans to combat the challenges such as 1) priority to solve dwellings and drinking water; 2) improve transportation system; 3) strict appliance to the land use regulation; 4) pay continued attention to the protection of heritage of national culture; 5) prevention of air, river, stream, lake and sea pollution; and 6) enhance disaster management capacity.

On the other hand, during every one of its National Reports submitted for the Universal Periodic Review, the DPRK has reported on its efforts to provide housing to its citizens. In 2009, the government stated that “citizens are provided with dwelling houses from the State free of charge and […] (while) there are some people living in inadequate conditions but no one is left homeless, since people’s committees at all levels are responsibly taking care of people’s life as householders would do.” In 2014, the National Report stated that “[t]housands of housing units were newly built or renovated in provinces, municipalities and counties, thus providing conditions for people to enjoy a more civilized and happy life. For instance, 400 housing units were built and 800 renovated in Changsong County, a mountainous region. [Additionally], many dwelling houses, schools and kindergartens were newly built on small and large islands on the West Sea.” In 2019, alongside the dwellings built and renovated across the country, the DPRK also reported on its disaster management capacity, stating that “the State took emergency measures for the construction of dwellings for people in the areas affected by such disaster as floods and heavy rain, and concentrated all efforts on the relief of the disaster victims so that they could soon resume normal life. For instance, 1,800 houses were newly built within 40 days in Rason when it was hit by floods in 2015, and 11,900 houses were newly built and 15,000 renovated within 60 days in the North Hamgyong Province that suffered unprecedented floods in September 2016.” Furthermore, in its 2021 VNR report, the DPRK stated that “The Government strives to expand transportation, increase road safety and provide the people with safe and convenient public transportation system”.

[Interview by NKDB in 2018 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

[Interview by NKDB in 2018 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

[Interview by NKDB in 2017 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

As stated by the government in its reports to the UN, in principle all housing is owned and distributed by the state under the regime’s house lending system. However, like many other sectors in North Korea, the economic collapse during the Arduous March has led to marketization and housing becoming private property. In recent years there has been an increasing number of North Koreans who live in apartment buildings with 21.4% reported by the UNPF in 2008 and an increase to 25% in 2014. Moreover, the KINU stated in its report that there is still a lack of access to adequate and safe housing, while the number of people living in apartments in urban areas have increased.

NKDB’s research with North Korean defectors have confirmed that the construction projects mentioned by the DPRK were indeed completed during the period. Nevertheless, the interviewees emphasized that the North Korean people had not been provided with the new houses for free. Furthermore, it is difficult to collect testimonies as to the DPRK’s concrete efforts to establish a welfare system that guarantees people’s right to financial compensation for labour, workplace safety, and workers’ compensation. Although one interviewee related preferential treatment that high-ranking party officials are entitled to after their retirement, this is not the case for the vast majority of North Korean residents.

It appears that the DPRK is working to meet its goal to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems by upgrading its public transport system with new train cars and trolleybuses for the 3 million residents in Pyongyang. However, public transport is a luxury for only those in urban areas, while the right to movement is systematically restricted for North Korean citizens as travel permits must be issued in order for them to travel to other provinces. While North Koreans are now able to travel to other provinces including to Pyongyang as long as they have money for bribes, it has led to a great deal of corruption and had a ripple effect into other human rights violations. For example, officials have taken advantage of these procedures leaving women vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Regarding this, NKDB mentioned that as it is often women who are engaged in trade, they will travel to purchase and sell goods from one region to another as a result, officials will not only demand bribes, but also inflict sexual abuse and violence.

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