KIM JONG-UN ATTENDS HOSPITAL CEREMONY

[Anchor Lead]

The North Korean media reported that Chairman Kim Jong-un showed up for the groundbreaking ceremony of a general hospital in Pyongyang yesterday. He appeared to have returned to the North Korean capital after touring the military facilities on the East Coast. He ordered the hospital to be completed in 200 days, saying that the hospital construction is head-on war against the enemy's sanctions and lock-down.

[Pkg]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen shovelling sand into a pit. This is the construction site of Pyongyang General Hospital which the regime's authorities tout as a cutting-edge facility. In an unprecedented move, Kim not only attended the groundbreaking ceremony, but also gave a speech. He defined the hospital construction as the year's top priority project and order the facility to be completed in 200 days, by October 10th, the founding anniversary of the Workers' Party.

[Soundbite] (KIM JONG-UN'S SPEECH READ BY PROXY(KOREA CENTRAL TV)) : "We must work together as one to finish building Pyongyang General Hospital by the 75th founding anniversary of the Workers' Party, no matter what."

Kim also stressed the hospital construction is the actualization of the frontal breakthrough concept, underlined at the plenary meeting at the end of last year. He encouraged North Koreans to overcome hostile forces' sanctions and lock-down by completing the hospital on schedule. This is Kim's first civilian event since inspecting the construction site of a fertilizer factory in January. At a time when COVID-19 is spreading across the globe, it was a way to prove he is healthy, and demonstrate his resolve to improve the regime's poor medical infrastructure.

[Soundbite] PROF. YANG MOO-JIN(UNIVERSITY OF NORTH KOREAN STUDIES) : "Since the construction of a general hospital is related to people's health and welfare, the regime's leader came out personally to look after the project."

Unlike the scene at a recent artillery test, key figures who attended the ceremony together with the North Korean leader were not wearing face masks.