Chosŏn'gŭl 강동 관저 Revised Romanization Gangdong Gwanjeo | Hancha 江東官邸 McCune–Reischauer Kangdong Kwanjŏ | |
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Address Yongha-Dong, Pyongyang, North Korea | ||
Kangdong Residence is the summer retreat and second major residence of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un besides Ryongsong Residence.
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Location
The residence is located in Kangdong-gun, a suburban county of Pyongyang, around 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Kim Il-sung Square. Taedong River is just 1 km (0.62 mi) to the north. The size of the whole leadership complex is around 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi). According to Kim Jong-il’s former bodyguard Lee Young-kuk there are at least eight North Korean leader’s residences outside Pyongyang.
Description
The compound was constructed in the 1980s and expanded in the 1990s under the order of Kim Jong-il. It contains buildings for Kim Jong-il, his late wife Ko Yong-hui, his sister Kim Kyong-hui and his brother-in-law Jang Sung-taek. The area is mostly used as summer residence, to spend holidays or for parties with close officials. The estate has an elaborate garden, set around many lakes. There are numerous guest houses, and a banqueting hall. The whole compound is a maximum security area, surrounded by two armored fence lines with guards huts and checkpoints, clearly visible on satellite pictures. Kim Jong-il’s former cook Kenji Fujimoto worked and lived in a guest house within the compound and provided some photographs dated 1989. Analysis of satellite pictures showed that the area changed significantly since then and even after 2006 new buildings and a new railway station were established. Defectors reported that in Hyangmok-ri, not far from the residence and from the Mausoleum of Tangun, Kim Jong-un’s birthplace is being built, though he was actually born in Changsong, North Pyongan Province.