Woken before dawn, the group of foreign journalists were stripped of their mobile phones and piled on to a bus. They were in Pyongyang and, officials insisted, about to witness a “big and important event”. Tensions were high amid fears that the US could target the North Korean capital and a show of force from the Kim Jong Un regime seemed imminent.
The destination struck a different note, however. When reporters disembarked, they were greeted not with the sight of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but instead a wide boulevard lined with skyscrapers. The world’s press had been brought to bear witness to the April opening of Ryomyong Street — a construction project that has become a symbol for North Koreans of their nation’s economic development.
Since ascending to power five years ago, Mr Kim has openly put economic growth at the heart of his agenda, alongside the development of nuclear weapons — a dual-track policy known as the “byungjin line”.