A New Lift

On the early morning of August 17, Juche 98 (2009), the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Pothonggang Shop.

The manageress greeted him and showed him around the shop. Arriving at the stairs leading to the second floor, he asked if there was a lift inside the building.

The manageress replied that there was one for the employees. But what he was asking about was a lift for customers. She then said that there was no such thing for them.

He was lost in thought for a moment. Walking up the stairs, he said that if the shop had no lift for customers, it would be exhausting for them to go up and down the stairs, holding two or three plastic bags in their hands.

At the turkey counter he asked how heavy the turkeys were. Told that they were 5-14㎏, he said that they were too heavy for customers to carry, imitating a man carrying a huge bag of rice on his back.

The officials burst out laughing, but the manageress looked solemn. It was not until then that she understood why Kim Jong Un asked two questions.

One of the officials went to the entrance, pushed a trolley to the meat counter, put a turkey into it and came back. He showed it to Kim Jong Un, saying that each customer would wheel a trolley and move downstairs.

Kim Jong Un held the handles of the trolley and pushed it back and forth, looking somewhat disappointed.

He said: If an escalator is installed in the shop, trolleys need to have brakes just like bicycles; these trolleys should be used at the counters only.

He then gave detailed advice on how to install a lift.