Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 평양시관리법 2014 [Pyongyang City Management Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2014)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Pyongyangsi Gwanlibeob 2014 [Pyongyang City Management Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2014)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on November 26, Juche 87 (1998), as Directive No. 286 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 31, Juche 98 (2009), as Directive No. 3156 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 30, Juche 99 (2010), as Directive No. 743 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on October 22, Juche 103 (2014), as Directive No. 191 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Article 1 (Objectives of the Pyongyang City Management Law)
Pyongyang is the shrine of Juche, the heart of the Korean people, and the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Pyongyang City Management Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall serve to better manage Pyongyang City into a modern and cultural city and to arrange a more quiet and clean living environment for the residents and more comfortable living conditions and labour conditions.
Article 2 (Principle of expanding investment in Pyongyang City management)
Pyongyang city was constructed to be grand and splendid according to the correct capital construction policy of the State and relying on the patriotic fervour and creative labour of our people. The State shall increase investment in Pyongyang City management to consolidate and develop the results accomplished in constructing the capital.
Article 3 (Principle of all people-oriented management for Pyongyang City)
Managing Pyongyang City well is an expression of patriotism and is an honourable duty. The State shall strengthen socialist and patriotic education so all people actively participate in Pyongyang City management work.
Article 4 (Principle of planned management for Pyongyang City)
Managing Pyongyang City in a planned way is an important principle for managing the capital. The State shall correctly adopt and implement a Pyongyang City management plan.
Article 5 (Environmental improvement and principle of preventing concentration of population for Pyongyang City)
Improving the environment of Pyongyang City and preventing concentration of the population is a fundamental requirement of capital management. The State shall correctly determine and strictly abide by things like the population limit of Pyongyang City, its population density, the proportion of industrial population, the proportion of industrial surface area, green surface area per person, and other key capital management standards.
Article 6 (Subjects of regulation of the Pyongyang City Management Law)
This law regulates the principles and order relating to the territory, city construction, business administration, residence, registration of institutions, and the labour of residents of Pyongyang City. Particulars not regulated in this law shall follow the relevant regulations.
Article 7 (Classification of Pyongyang City territory)
The territory of Pyongyang city is the area where the administration of the capital is exercised, and is divided into the central area and the surrounding area. The central area is the area with Mansudae determined as the centre and the surrounding area includes the protected zone, satellite cities and the agricultural area.
Article 8 (Establishing the central area, protected zone and satellite cities)
The work of determining the boundary of the central area, the width of the protected zone and satellite cities shall be done by the Cabinet. In arranging the central area and the protected zone, the Cabinet shall must match the boundary of the central area with the boundary of administrative districts.
Article 9 (Arrangement of central area)
The central area is an area determined to specially manage residents and the city environment. The Cabinet and the Pyongyang city People’s Committee shall form resident administration work, protect the environment, and must arrange the central area from the principle of completing the formation of the city.
Article 10 (Management of the protected zone)
The protected zone is an area determined to protect the central area environment and to assure the culture and relaxation of the residents. The Cabinet, the city planning institution and relevant authorities must form a protected green ring in the protected zone that is founded on forests and amusement parks. New subjects must not be assigned or constructed in the protected zone excluding municipal administration, traffic, agricultural production facilities and agricultural villages.
Article 11 (Construction of satellite city)
Satellite cities are cities determined to adjust the concentration of population in the central area and to divide economic and societal labour abilities. The Cabinet, state planning institutions, and relevant authorities shall determine the construction order of satellite cities according to what has been decided and must assign institutions, enterprises and organizations in conformity with the nature of the given satellite city.
Article 12 (Management of agricultural area)
The agricultural area is the base for production of agricultural and stock breeding products, and a guaranteed base. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant authorities must calculate demand and supply conditions to manage agricultural areas close to the central area as a production base for vegetables, meat, and fruit, and must increase their production.
CHAPTER III. CITY CONSTRUCTION AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Article 13 (Basic requirements of city construction and business administration)
Doing city construction and business administration work well is an important requirement of managing Pyongyang city, the face of the country, into a modern and cultural city. Construction institutions, municipal administration institutions, and relevant authorities must actively accept new cutting edge techniques to ceaselessly improve city construction and business administration work.
Article 14 (Approval of the total construction plan)
The central area and the protected zone shall be managed according to the total Pyongyang city construction plan, and satellite cities shall be managed according to the relevant total satellite city construction plan. The Cabinet shall approve the total Pyongyang city construction plan, and the State construction supervision institution shall approve the total satellite city construction plans.
Article 15 (Evaluation of environmental impact of factories and enterprises)
Institutions or organizations wishing to build factories or enterprises in Pyongyang city territory must receive an evaluation of environmental impact from the relevant authorities. Factories or enterprises cause inconvenience to city management because they create pollution, the production process is not modernized, or the volume of goods transported is large, may not be placed in the central area.
Article 16 (Assignment of sport and cultural facilities)
City planning institutions must assign sport and cultural facilities such as arenas, gyms, theatres, movie theatres, museums, monuments and playgrounds, to smoothly assure the cultural and aesthetic standards of residents and harmoniously manage the appearance of the capital.
Article 17 (Construction of homes)
The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and the relevant authorities shall do home construction in a planned way to smoothly assure the constantly increasing home demands of residents.
Article 18 (Issue of construction business documents and construction license)
The issue of construction business documents and construction licenses for the construction of important subjects in the central area shall be done by the Cabinet, and the issue of construction business documents and construction licenses for other construction subjects shall be done by the relevant construction supervision institution.
Article 19 (Permission for use and management of public buildings and homes)
The permission for use and management of public buildings and homes in Pyongyang city shall be done by the Pyongyang city People’s Committee. However, the permission for use and management for specially determined public buildings, homes may be done by the relevant authorities.
The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must properly maintain and manage the building and its surroundings for which it has responsibility to manage, to always maintain a clean and cultural environment.
Article 20 (Planting and management of gardens)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall plant handsome different trees of good species, plant beautiful flowerbeds, and plant ground cover plants like grass so the bare ground is not visible, according to the responsible management blueprint, and must properly manage them. In every necessary place inside the city, different water scenery must be built, and parks and amusement parks must be well managed.
Article 21 (Management of water supply)
The municipal administration institution must hold modern water supply facilities, normalize their operations, and actively accept advanced sterilization and purification techniques, to sufficiently assure to residents drinking water with good water quality that has been completely purified. Drinking water may not be used as water for industrial use without the approval of the municipal administration institution.
Article 22 (Sewer management)
The municipal administration institution shall fully equip sewerage systems and sewage purification facilities and normalize their administration and operation and must treat sewage and rainwater at the right time. Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall hold purification facilities in conformity with the nature of their unit, and must purify industrial waste water on their own according to the requirements of environment protection standards.
Article 23 (Heating management)
The municipal administration institution and the Pyongyang city People’s Committee shall correctly determine subjects for central heating, electric heating and self-heating by area and must smoothly assure heating conditions. Institutions that produce and supply heating and municipal administration institution must regularly supply heat and hot water with the designated flow, temperature and pressure. Heating facilities may not be changed and heating may not be drawn and used without the approval of the municipal administration institution.
Article 24 (Air management)
City planning institutions and the municipal administration institution must assure the cleanliness of air by assigning buildings and roadside trees well to meet city ventilation and environmental protection limits and standards. In the central area, boilers that pollute the air may not be operated, and wheeled vehicles that exceed emission standards and expel harmful gases may not be operated.
Article 25 (Road management)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant authorities shall fully equip the road network of Pyongyang city and properly do road management to assure its lifespan and cultural character. In cases where roads are sought to be dug up, service lines are sought to be installed or road facilities are sought to be fixed, the approval of the Pyongyang city People’s Committee shall be received.
Article 26 (Stream management)
The municipal administration institution and relevant authorities shall properly make riverside arrangements and riverbed digging of streams including the Taedong River and Potong River, shall cause clear water to always flow in the streams inside Pyongyang city by adopting a water flow system, and prevent floodwater damage in advance by responsibly operating and managing floodgates in conformity with fluctuations in water level and volume of water flow.
Article 27 (Streetlight management and street lighting)
The municipal administration institution and relevant authorities shall rationally install different forms of streetlights in Pyongyang city and shall light them properly. Monument memorials and different places on the street must be given street lighting to beautifully decorate the streets of the capital at night.
Article 28 (Treatment of garbage)
The municipal administration institution shall manage a general garbage treatment plant and treat garbage at the right time to prevent environmental pollution from city garbage and industrial waste, and must assure a clean living environment to residents. Relevant enterprises must transport industrial waste to the general garbage treatment plant.
Article 29 (Basic requirements of residential and institutional registration)
Residential registration and institutional registration is a prerequisite process to correctly command residents, institutions, enterprises and organizations. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant authorities must strictly conduct residential and institutional registration work according to what has been decided.
Article 30 (Residential registration)
A citizen who wishes to reside in Pyongyang city must do a residential registration. The work of determining the residential registration process and method of citizens shall be done by the Cabinet.
Article 31 (Residential approval)
A citizen seeking to reside from the countryside to Pyongyang city, or from the surrounding area into the central area, must receive a residential approval from the relevant authorities.
Article 32 (Conferment of Pyongyang city citizen card, order by which a Pyongyang city resident must abide)
Citizens residing in Pyongyang city over the age of 17 years shall be conferred a Pyongyang city citizen card. Pyongyang city residents must always carry their city citizen card, must carry a refined mentally moral presence, shall strictly adhere to the legal order of the State, and must abide by their honour as a resident of the capital by becoming a role model in realizing policy. In cases where a Pyongyang city resident has gravely violated the legal order of the State, the Pyongyang city citizen card shall be recovered.
Article 33 (Institutional registration and re-registration)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall do institutional registration at the right time and must re-register every year. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that have not registered or re-registered in Pyongyang city may not operate.
Article 34 (Submission of application documents for institutional registration)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations seeking to do institutional registration must submit the designated institutional registration application to the Pyongyang city People’s Committee. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee must correctly review and register the application documents for institutional registration. Institutions, enterprises and organizations cannot do institutional registration at a different location.
Article 35 (Change in institutional registration)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that have changed their name, management system or membership must do an amended registration. In these cases, the approval of the Cabinet, Pyongyang city People’s Committee or the relevant authorities must be received according to the subject.
Article 36 (Assignment of labour)
Labour assignment shall only be done for institutions, enterprises and organizations that have done institutional registration. In cases where the relevant labour administration institution assigns labour, the residential area and the distance for attending work must be taken into consideration.
Article 37 (Basic requirements of resident labour)
Doing resident labour well is an important duty of the Pyongyang city People’s Committee.
The Pyongyang city People’s Committee shall properly discover the true state of the standard of life of residents in the city, and must do labour activities well to assure affluent and civilized living conditions.
Article 38 (Supply of food and fuel)
Food policy institutions and fuel supply institutions must correctly adopt a food and fuel supply system for Pyongyang city and supply the designated volume of food and fuel at the right time. State planning institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall make a plan for food and fuel to be supplied to Pyongyang city using a “capital fund” and must assure preferential production.
Article 39 (Commerce, supplying with necessities, community service)
Commerce, supplying with necessities, and community service institutions shall rationally assign community service networks in conformity with the demands and preferences of residents, shall increase the types of community service, and shall normalize community service at a high level. State planning institutions and central commercial guidance institutions shall correctly adopt a guarantee system for the facilities, goods and raw materials required for the commerce, supplying with necessities, and community service sector of Pyongyang city and shall supply it first before other sectors.
Article 40 (Homes and their planning management)
The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and municipal administration institutions shall properly repair and maintain homes to extend their lifespans and must ceaselessly improve the appearance of the capital. Homes planning shall be arranged in a planned way and must have sufficient facilities required for residents’ standard of life to manage it into a comprehensive unit of living. Home planning may not place subjects that might cause inconvenience to residents’ standard of life or harm their health.
Article 41 (Guarantee of demands for traffic and transportation)
Traffic conveyance institutions and relevant authorities shall rationally form a traffic network according to the Pyongyang city overarching traffic network construction plan, shall normalize the operation of traffic and transportation methods, and must smoothly assure the increasing demands of traffic and transportation for residents. In Pyongyang, public transportation such as subways, aboveground city circle trains, electric tramways, trolley buses, and buses, shall be the basic transportation.
Article 42 (Guarantee of electronic communications and postal communications)
Communications institutions and relevant authorities shall computerize the electronic communications of Pyongyang city, and accept cutting edge techniques and operating method to guarantee the speed, accuracy and safety of communications, and must raise the level of postal communications labour.
Article 43 (Dissemination of published and reported materials)
Publishing and reporting institutions and relevant authorities shall adopt a dissemination system for published and reported materials in an orderly manner and ensure that residents can properly watch, hear and use things such as newspapers and broadcasts at the right time.
Article 44 (Guarantee of childcare and education conditions)
Childcare institutions and education institutions must abide strictly by hygienic, nutritional and pedagogical requirements in child-rearing work and education work. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant authorities shall rationally assign creches, kindergartens and schools of each level so that the benefits of childcare education and teenage education at the expense of the State and society are correctly provided to the residents, and must smoothly assure childcare and education conditions.
Article 45 (Measures for treatment, hygiene and epidemic prevention)
Public health institutions shall rationally install people’s hospitals, clinics and relevant specialist hospitals, and shall strengthen medical services activities so that residents sufficiently receive the benefits of free medical care. Relevant public health institutions must correctly execute the district doctor system so that doctors properly inquire into the health state of the residents in their district system and strengthen prevention and treatment work, and must thoroughly adopt hygiene and epidemic prevention measures. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall strongly manage the material and technical foundations of public health institutions and must assure the production of medicine and medical supplies required in medical work.
Article 46 (Guarantee of labour conditions)
Labour administration institutions and relevant authorities shall rationally organize labour and sufficiently assure labour conditions to ensure that all workers responsibly participate in worthwhile labour for the construction of a strong and prosperous socialist nation. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall arrange sufficient conditions so that women can actively advance in society and participate in labour as much as they like.
Article 47 (Guidance for Pyongyang city management work)
Standardized guidance for Pyongyang city management work shall be done by Cabinet. Cabinet must properly command and guide Pyongyang city management work.
Article 48 (Drafting and execution of Pyongyang city management plan)
The State Planning Commission, the Pyongyang city People’s Committee, and relevant authorities shall adopt plans by sector, plans by stage and plans by order for Pyongyang city management and must execute them without fail.
Article 49 (Guarantee of conditions for Pyongyang city management work)
All institutions, enterprises and organizations inside Pyongyang city including offices and central institutions must turn their deep attention and be actively mobilized in work that manages Pyongyang city in accordance with its place as the central seat of Songun culture. State planning institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall preferentially and smoothly assure labour, electricity, facilities, resources, funds required for Pyongyang city management work.
Article 50 (Strengthening scientific research for Pyongyang city management)
Relevant scientific research institutions shall solve scientific and technical issues raised in Pyongyang city management and must strengthen scientific research to scientize and modernize capital management. The Pyongyang city People’s Committee must accept results accomplished in scientific research at the right time.
Article 51 (Guaranteeing products for Pyongyang city)
The State Planning Commission and People’s Committees at each level, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall plan the production of products to be placed in the Pyongyang city commercial network and assure their production without fail.
Article 52 (Supervision and control over Pyongyang city management work)
Supervision and control over Pyongyang city management work shall be done by Cabinet and the relevant supervision and control institution. Cabinet and the relevant supervision and control institution must strictly supervise and control adherence to regulations related to Pyongyang city management.
Article 53 (Administrative or criminal liability)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have caused grave consequences in Pyongyang city management by violating this law shall have administrative or criminal liability imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 28 July 2020