--- description: Officials made a rare apology following Tuesday's collapse of an apartment building containing about 92 families title: North Korea Apartment Collapse: Officials Make Rare Apology image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt936e2e3a5edb4ad4/698690003bc999d12e1a38b8/ap105698762039.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korean Officials Apologize for Apartment Collapse  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2014 1:47 PM CUT  A North Korean official, right, apologizes in front of families of victims of an accident at an apartment construction site and local residents in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 17, 2014. A North Korean official, right, apologizes in front of families of victims of an accident at an apartment construction site and local residents in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 17, 2014.Kyodo News/AP  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2014 1:47 PM CUT North Korean officials [made a rare apology](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/n-korea-reports-unimaginable-construction-accident-031246878.html "undefined") Sunday by taking responsibility for a recent apartment building collapse in the capital of Pyongyang, state news agency KCNA reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un [“sat up all night, feeling painful”](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/n-korea-reports-unimaginable-construction-accident-031246878.html "undefined") after he was informed about the accident, Agence France-Press reports via KCNA. North Korea’s minister of people’s security and chief secretary of the city committee of the ruling Workers’ Party were among the officials who made public apologies over the incident. South Korean officials told the AFP that the 23-story apartment building contained about 92 families when it collapsed Tuesday. The number of resulting deaths remains unknown. North Korean authorities told KCNA that “irresponsible” supervision was to blame for the collapse. It’s common practice in North Korea for families to be moved into apartment buildings before they’re finished being built, AFP reports. \[[_AFP_](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/n-korea-reports-unimaginable-construction-accident-031246878.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/103960/north-korea-apartment-collapse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/103960/north-korea-apartment-collapse/"},"headline":"North Korean Officials Apologize for Apartment Collapse","datePublished":"2014-05-18T13:47:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:54:26.154Z","description":"Senior officials from the usually secretive government took responsibility for Tuesday’s collapse of an apartment building in the capital of Pyongyang containing approximately 92 families","url":"https://time.com/103960/north-korea-apartment-collapse/","keywords":["North Korea","South Korea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt936e2e3a5edb4ad4/698690003bc999d12e1a38b8/ap105698762039.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt936e2e3a5edb4ad4/698690003bc999d12e1a38b8/ap105698762039.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korea Construction Accident","caption":"North Korea Construction Accident","creditText":"Kyodo News/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/103960/north-korea-apartment-collapse/","name":"North Korean Officials Apologize for Apartment Collapse"}}]}] ```