North Korea’s leader has sacked officials building a hospital after they pressed the public for contributions, media reported on Monday, the second rebuke linked to the high-profile project in a country where such problems are rarely publicized.
Lauren Anthony reports
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sacked officials building a hospital for extortion.
They had pressed the public for contributions, media reported on Monday (July 20).
It's the second time he has publicly reprimanded those managing the high-profile project.
Kim had ordered the Pyongyang General Hospital to be built by the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party in October, calling it a "top priority" in improving public health.
But in his latest visit to the site, he sacked a group of project managers, called the construction coordination commission, for failing to allocate a proper budget for the project -- and supplying equipment and materials from ordinary citizens.
State news agency KCNA said Kim "severely rebuked them for burdening the people", and called the incident a "serious digression" from party policy.
Kim had earlier criticized the managers for causing delays with "inattention" and violating unspecified anti-epidemic rules.
KCNA said Kim plans to replace the officials responsible.
Problems like this are rarely publicized in North Korea.
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