Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 도시계획법 2009 [City Planning Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2009)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Dosigyehoegbeob 2009 [City Planning Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2009)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on March 5, Juche 92 (2003), as Directive No. 3627 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Adopted on December 11, Juche 96 (2007), as Directive No. 2482 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on May 5, Juche 98 (2009), as Directive No. 37 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF CITY PLANNING LAW
Article 1 (Objectives of City Planning Law)
The City Planning Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt systems and orders in the drafting, ratification, and execution of city planning, and shall serve to construct cities and villages so that they have good prospects and arrange a more excellent living environment for the people.
Article 2 (Classification of city plans)
City plans are standardized and comprehensive plans related to using land in city and village planning territory, and constructing, repairing, and servicing things such as buildings, facilities, and green areas. City plans include things such as the city and village overarching plans and the detailed plan and divisional plans according to them.
Article 3 (Principle of drafting city plans)
Correctly drafting the city plan is a fundamental guarantee for managing cities in a socialist manner. The State shall correctly regulate the nature of the city, the scale, and direction of the formation in drafting the city plan, and must finalize the territory of the city plan in the city and village overarching plans.
Article 4 (Principle of deliberation and approval of city plan)
The ratification of city plans is important work to deliberate on and approve the drafted city plans. The State shall guarantee scientificity and realism in the deliberation and approval of the city plans.
Article 5 (Principle of execution of city plan)
Correctly executing city plans is a necessary requirement for constructing the city in a planned way so that it has good prospects. The State shall do city construction, repair, and service work based strictly on the city plan.
Article 6 (Principle of investment in city plan sector)
The State shall correctly adopt a city plan work system and must systematically extend investment in the city planning sector.
Article 7 (Principle of training technical experts and experts, scientific research)
The State shall train technical experts and professionals in the city planning sector in a planned way in conformity with the requirements of the information industry age, shall strengthen scientific research, and must actively accept the results of advanced scientific techniques.
Article 8 (Exchange and cooperation in the city planning field)
The State shall strengthen exchange and cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the city planning field.
CHAPTER II. DRAFTING CITY PLANS
Article 9 (Basic requirements of city plan drafting)
The drafting of city plans is the precedential process for city construction. The city plan drafting institution must draft a city plan before city construction.
Article 10 (Basic standards for city plan drafting)
The State city construction policy is a basic standard for city plan drafting. The city plan drafting institution must correctly draft city plans based on the policy of the State.
Article 11 (Drafting institution for city plans)
The drafting of city plans shall be done by the city plan design institution. In these cases, local political institutions must order the drafting of the city plan. The city plan drafting of important subjects shall be organized by the Cabinet.
Article 12 (Principles to abide by in city plan drafting)
Principles to abide by in city plan drafting are as follows.
1. Revolutionary battlefields, revolutionary historic sites, monument memorials, historical sites, and natural monuments must be able to be preserved in their original state.
2. They must take into consideration the economic and cultural development prospects of the country.
3. They must correctly embody the Juche ideology, the character of the people, and modernity.
4. They must take into consideration the natural geographical conditions and natural climate characteristics.
5. Cities may not be made too big, their population density and architectural density shall be reduced, and satellite cities must be rationally placed in the surroundings of large cities.
6. Slopes and the underground must be used to the utmost, and the rate of usage of the land must be raised.
7. The basic roads and railways of the country must not be allowed to transit through the center of the city.
8. The number of floors for homes in provinces, cities, counties, and areas shall be determined in conformity with the city and village plan design standards, and streets must be formed oriented around homes.
9. Cities shall be forested and gardenized, and natural disasters and pollution must be able to be prevented.
10. The requirements of national defense must be abided by.
Article 13 (Drafting method for city planning)
The city and village overarching plan shall be drafted based on the overarching land construction plan, the detailed plan shall be based on the city and village overarching plan, and divisional plans shall be drafted based on the detailed plans. Things such as the detailed plan and divisional plans may be combined and drafted according to the scale and nature of the subject.
Article 14 (Forecast period for city planning)
The forecast period for city and village overarching plans are 20 years. In required cases, the forecast period of the city and village overarching plans may be more than 20 years.
Article 15 (Approval of land development)
Institutions seeking to order the drafting of a city or village overarching plan must receive land development approval. For construction subjects inside the city and village overarching planning territory, land development approval and the designation of construction location shall not be received.
Article 16 (Investigation and command for drafting the city plan materials)
The city plan drafting institution must investigate and command the materials required for drafting the city plan. City plans may not be drafted without investigating and commanding the required materials.
Article 17 (Requirements for drafting the city plan materials)
The city plan drafting institution may require materials required for drafting the city plan to the relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must assure in time the things required by the city plan drafting institution, such as the population, state of the resources, economic development prospects materials, state of the environment, meteorological and hydrological data, geographical features and geological materials, and satellite information materials.
Article 18 (Content to be reflected in city planning)
The content to be reflected in city and village overarching plans is as follows.
1. Prospective population
2. The scale and boundaries of the territory of the city plan, construction territory, and protected territory
3. The scale and boundaries of revolutionary battlefields, revolutionary historic sites, home areas, public building areas, industrial areas, railways, ports, airport areas, warehouse areas, special areas, important institution, enterprise divisions
4. The location of the city center
5. Placement of facilities, placement of green areas, afforestation of zones according to roads and plazas, inner city traffic network, technical facilities network
6. Placement of disaster and pollution control facilities, and city planning measures
Article 19 (Content to be reflected in detailed plans)
Detailed plans shall reflect things such as the setting of planning districts, planning zones by function, building functions and number of floors, placement, direction of formation, roads and technical facilities, placement of green areas, and creation of zones.
Article 20 (Content to be reflected in divisional plans)
Divisional plans must reflect in detail things such as planning zones by subject, building functions and number of floors, roads and technical facilities, placement of green areas and species of trees, and land afforestation.
CHAPTER III. RATIFICATION OF CITY PLANNING
Article 21 (Basic requirements for ratification of city planning)
Keeping the ratification process for city planning is an important requirement for guaranteeing the execution of city planning. The Cabinet, the State construction supervision institution, and the province (or municipality directly under central authority) People’s Committee must deliberate on and approve city planning in time.
Article 22 (Agreement on city planning draft)
The city plan drafting institution shall agree on the drafted city planning draft with related institutions, then must raise it with the province (or municipality directly under central authority) People’s Committee. The province (or municipality directly under central authority) People’s Committee must raise the city planning draft ratified by the Cabinet and the State construction supervision institution with the State construction supervision institution.
Article 23 (Review and ratification of city planning draft)
The city planning ratification institution must correctly review whether the city planning draft has been drafted in conformity with the city construction policy and the principle of drafting the city plan of the State. The ratification of city planning shall be done at the standing committee or cadre meeting of the authorities concerned.
Article 24 (Deliberation and approval of city-level overarching city plan and overarching city plan of important subjects)
The city-level overarching city plan and the overarching city plan of important subjects shall be approved by the Cabinet. In these cases, the State construction supervision institution shall deliberate on the overarching city plan draft approved by the Cabinet, and must raise it to Cabinet.
Article 25 (Deliberation and approval of overarching town plan, detailed plans and divisional plans of city-level cities and towns)
The overarching town plan and detailed plans and divisional plans for city-level cities and towns shall be deliberated on and approved by the State construction supervision institution.
Article 26 (Deliberation and approval of overarching plans for labour complexes, village, detailed plans, and divisional plans)
The province (or municipality directly under central authority) People’s Committee shall deliberate on and approve overarching plans for labour complexes and villages, detailed plans, and divisional plans.
Article 27 (Issue of ratified city planning)
The Cabinet, the State construction supervision institution, and the province (or municipality directly under central authority) People’s Committee must send ratified city planning to the city plan drafting institution in time. The city plan drafting institution must send ratified city planning to the central municipal administration institution, local political institutions, and the authorities concerned.
Article 28 (Change of city planning)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not change the content of ratified city planning without approval. In cases where city planning is sought to be amended and supplemented, the approval of the ratifying institution must be received.
CHAPTER IV. EXECUTION OF CITY PLANNING
Article 29 (Basic requirements of city planning execution)
The execution of city planning is important work to construct the city according to the requirements of ratified plans. Local political institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must execute ratified city planning without fail.
Article 30 (Execution of city planning)
The State construction supervision institution, local political institutions, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall calculate things like the current state, prospective requirements, and investment scale, and must execute city planning from the principles of constructing infrastructure first, then superstructure, and of planning one and completing one in concentration.
Article 31 (Drafting and issue of city order and annual construction plan)
Local political institutions and city plan drafting institutions who have received ratified city planning must draft a city order and an annual construction plan. The drafted construction plan must receive the approval of the authorities concerned and must send it to the executing unit.
Article 32 (Issue of construction specifications)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations executing city planning must have construction specifications issued. In these cases, issues related to construction and municipal administration must be agreed with the People’s Committee at the corresponding level. The issue of construction specifications shall be done by the State construction supervision institution or the province (or municipality directly under central authority) construction supervision institution according to the scale and importance of the subject. The issue of construction specifications for important subjects shall be done by the State construction supervision institution after receiving the ratification of the Cabinet.
Article 33 (Validity period of construction specifications)
The validity period of construction specifications shall be 3 years. The validity period of construction specifications may be more than 3 years according to the scale and nature of the subject. Construction specifications for subjects where a subject overarching construction plan or subject design has not been drafted within the validity period shall lose their legal effect.
Article 34 (Drafting technical assignments and overarching construction plans and designs)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations executing city planning must draft technical orders and overarching construction plans and designs for construction subjects based on construction specifications.
Article 35 (Planning of subjects)
Local political institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must interconnect the national economic plan with subjects reflected in the city order and annual construction plans.
Article 36 (Permission for use of land)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations executing city planning must receive permits for the use of land. The authorities concerned must issue permits for the use of land based on the construction specifications.
Article 37 (Permission for construction)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations executing city planning must receive a construction license before the subject construction commences.
Construction licenses shall be issued by the State construction supervision institution or the relevant construction supervision institution according to the subject. The State construction supervision institution or the relevant construction supervision institution shall correctly review infrastructure capability for the construction subject, and must issue construction licenses after guaranteeing those conditions.
Article 38 (Commencement of construction)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must commence the construction of subjects for which permission has been received in time. Institutions and enterprises having temporary buildings and facilities inside the territory of the city plan must demolish them before the construction of the subjects for which permission has been received commences.
Article 39 (Report, review meeting for state of city planning)
Local political institutions must report the state of city planning to the State construction supervision institution. The State construction supervision institution must hold a review meeting for the state of city planning every year.
CHAPTER V. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR CITY PLANNING WORK
Article 40 (Basic requirements of guidance and control for city planning work)
Strengthening guidance and control for city planning work is a resolute guarantee to correctly implement the city construction policy of the State. The State shall correctly adopt a guidance system for city planning work in conformity with the requirements of actual development, and must strengthen guidance and control.
Article 41 (Guidance for city planning work)
Guidance for city planning work shall be done by the State construction supervision institution and local political institutions under the standardized guidance of the Cabinet. The State construction supervision institution and local political institutions shall correctly adopt city planning and must guide them to correctly execute them.
Article 42 (Fortification of information base required for drafting the city plan)
The State construction supervision institution shall strongly manage the information base required for drafting the city plan. Local political institutions must regularly report materials required for managing the information base to the State construction supervision institution.
Article 43 (Supervision and control for city planning work)
Supervision and control for city planning work shall be done by the State construction supervision institution and the relevant supervision and control institution. The State construction supervision institution and the relevant supervision and control institution shall strictly supervise and control the state of city planning.
Article 44 (Suspension)
Acts such as constructing, repairing, and servicing without receiving a construction license shall be suspended.
Article 45 (Damage compensation)
Damage caused by designating a construction location within the territory of the city plan, or by issuing construction specifications or issuing construction licenses, permits for the use of land, and supply of funds counter to city planning, shall be compensated.
Article 46 (Confiscation or demolition)
Subjects constructed counter to city planning shall be confiscated or demolished.
Article 47 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have caused grave consequences for city planning work by violating this law must have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 25 October 2020