High-end building materials and fixtures torn out of Kim family villas and state guesthouses are turning up in North Korean markets in 2026. Many North Koreans living near those sites read the trend as a sign of sweeping renovations at the leadership’s private retreats. Ordinary shoppers are snapping up the castoffs, since goods of that quality are almost impossible to find elsewhere.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that rare building supplies have surfaced in local markets. They include premium waterproofing materials, tiles and electrical wire insulation, sold in small quantities. The goods are appearing in places like Hyangsan county, Jagang province, and Changsong county, North Pyongan province. Both counties host special facilities that serve North Korea’s ruling family. Hyangsan, home to the scenic Myohyang Mountains, is where state founder Kim Il Sung died at his villa in 1994.
The special villas are private retreats reserved for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family. The guesthouses, meanwhile, host senior officials and visiting dignitaries away from public view. Both are strictly off-limits to ordinary citizens, and state media stays silent about their upkeep.
“Every so often, high-quality construction materials that are hard to find show up at the market,” the source said. “Most of them come from villa or guesthouse construction sites, and things torn out of existing facilities get traded too. People consider it a windfall just to come across them.”
According to the source, wallpaper, glass, toilets, sinks and wall mirrors removed during interior renovations sell almost as soon as they appear. Even items that the leadership’s facilities have thrown out are still good enough for ordinary households to reuse. Comparable goods are also very hard to buy on the open market, which keeps demand high.
“Even the worn-out things they pull out of the villas and guesthouses are top-grade goods for ordinary people,” the source said. “People take the toilets, sinks and mirrors along with the wallpaper, wiring and tiles, and they put all of it back to use.”
The trade now goes beyond new materials siphoned off from construction sites. It also includes the debris left behind when crews redecorate or repair the facilities. Both kinds of goods are finding eager buyers in the jangmadang, North Korea’s informal private markets. These markets have supplied much of what households need since the famine of the 1990s.
Elite military unit may be renovating several Kim family villas at once
What stands out is that similar salvaged goods are appearing at once in markets well beyond Hyangsan and Changsong counties. Many local people see this as a sign that the 1st Brigade is renovating villas and guesthouses in several regions simultaneously.
The 1st Brigade is a specialized military construction unit that builds and maintains special facilities for the Kim family and the country’s top elite. Its soldiers have specialist training in plastering, tiling, carpentry, waterproofing and electrical work. The unit reportedly splits into detachments and sends them around the country depending on the size and nature of each project. Daily NK has previously reported that brigade soldiers take on private interior jobs on the side despite rules restricting such work.
“These things aren’t coming out of just one place, since similar items keep showing up here and there,” the source said. “That tells you the 1st Brigade is carrying out major repairs or redecorating existing facilities in many different places.”
“In places like Hyangsan, you could almost say the 1st Brigade has a permanent presence,” the source added. “The number of people mobilized and the scale of the work vary, but construction and repairs seem to keep going without a break.”
Renovation work at leadership retreats in North Pyongan province is nothing new for the Kim Jong Un regime. In 2023, Daily NK reported that authorities had quietly begun repairing Songhan Villa, a Kim family compound outside Sinuiju. Authorities sealed off the surrounding area while that work went on.
Talk is also spreading that the 1st Brigade has received concrete mixer trucks and pump trucks recently brought in from China. Daily NK earlier reported that North Korean trade workers are seeking these machines from Chinese suppliers. Kim Jong Un’s regional development drive has steadily widened demand for heavy equipment. Military construction units had already received bulldozers, cranes and concrete mixers from Chinese manufacturers in 2025. UN sanctions, however, bar the supply of industrial machinery and vehicles to North Korea.
A source in China familiar with North Korean affairs said trade insiders there are discussing the shipments. “People here who know North Korea’s internal situation well are talking about it,” the source told Daily NK. “They say some construction equipment waiting in China crossed into North Korea after the New Yalu River Bridge opened, and that it went to the specialized unit that builds villas and guesthouses.”
The New Yalu River Bridge links Dandong, in China’s Liaoning province, with Sinuiju and opened in mid-October after more than a decade of delays. The opening comes as North Korea steps up imports of Chinese cement and other building supplies for its nationwide construction campaign.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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November 2, 2026 at 10:34PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)