The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) started on Saturday a new project of building 10,000 flats in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.

The move marks the second project of a wider five-year construction plan to build 50,000 homes in the capital by the end of 2025. Work on the first set of 10,000 flats began in March 2021.

Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the DPRK, said at the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday that the construction in the Hwasong area of northeast Pyongyang was the first-stage construction to turn the area into a new modern town, the KCNA reported.

Kim also said that a large number of construction projects were being prepared or under way at large metallurgical bases, chemical industry bases, construction sites of new power plants and rural communities across the country, according to the KCNA.

The DPRK unveiled the new five-year economic development plan in January 2021, with focus on self-reliance to face the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and international sanctions.

(With input from Xinhua)