Kim Jong-un’s missile shaped skyscrapers – that he proudly opened last year – have one glaring design flaw.
Residents of the tower blocks in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, can only use its lifts when there’s electricity, which, due to the nation’s faltering grid, is for three hours between 6pm and 9pm.
This means many people end up having to use them at the same time, causing long queues to form.
Some have said they’ve had to queue for several hours.
The towers sit in the city’s new Hwasong district, which is named after Jon-un’s most powerful missile.
It’s widely understood the two towers were designed to look like the rockets.
One resident, who lives on the 19th floor of one of the buildings told Radio Free Asia (RFA): ‘In the evening, people who had worked at factories or gone out to the shop stand in long lines in front of the elevator to match the times when electricity is supplied.
‘Once the electricity comes back on, the elevator attendants control the number of people in the elevator so that no more than eight can ride it. People who wait in line before the electricity comes back on are complaining of joint pain as they wait for an hour to ride the elevator back home.’
One visitor to the apartment blocks, in Hwasong district, said he queued five hours to take a lift to his relative on the 25th floor.
‘The apartment complex and its amenities look great, but the residents are living in an uncomfortable environment,’ he said.
Some people have resorted to installing pulleys from the balconies to haul up food and other supplies.
However, as this is not officially allowed in the city because it is seen as ‘not civilised’, according to a source speaking to RFA, residents have to do it secretly.
Members of the country’s political elite tend to live in the city’s central district, where the power is available 12 hours a day.
But most other districts are only provided with two to three hours and often not at set times.
Because of its many high rise buildings with lifts that require electricity, Hwasong district has set hours in the evening to coincide with people finishing work.
Electricity isn’t the only thing restricted at the towers – tap water is reportedly only available between 6am and 8am.
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