North Korean Economy Watch

The Choson Ilbo posts a video of dozens of military vehicles being shipped to the DPRK:

Left: Click image above to see video. Right: Dandong Customs House

According to the article:

Some 3,000 to 4,000 Chinese-made military trucks and jeeps entered North Korea last month, it was confirmed Monday. According to video clips obtained by the Chosun Ilbo, over 100 military trucks and jeeps made in China went to North Korea everyday last month after going through customs in Dandong.

There were eight video clips of varying lengths ranging from two minutes to 16 minutes. The footage shows Chinese-produced military vehicles standing in the 10,000 sq.m parking lot of the Dandong customs office waiting to be cleared along with other civilian cars, and two-story trailers loaded with military vehicles waiting on the side road to enter the customs office. A local source in Dandong said, “Normally, all Chinese-made vehicles going into North Korea were civilian, but in July, a massive number of military cars went to North Korea.”

A senior source in North Korea said that these cars were gifts to military officers by North Korea’s heir apparent Kim Jong-un in celebration of “Victory Day,” or the day the armistice in the Korean War was signed on July 27. “North Korean military vehicles produced in the 1970s and the 80s are too old to carry out drills, and many soldiers were dissatisfied. In order to buy the loyalty of the military and show what he can do, Kim Jong-un replaced the old vehicles thanks to the assistance of China,” the source added.

Jeeps were given to officers to be used to conduct operations, and the trucks were given to soldiers.

Analysis of the footage suggests the trucks were 6-ton trucks made by FAW Car Limited Company. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited the headquarters of this firm in Changchun, Jilin, during his visit to China in May. The military jeeps were manufactured by Beijing Automobile Works with engine capacity of 2,200 cc and 100 horsepower. BAW, which specializes in SUVs, trucks and military vehicles, is a subsidiary of Beijing Automotive Group, a partner of Hyundai Motor.

Dump trucks, large buses, sedans, oil trucks, agricultural machines and heavy machinery were also spotted in the video going into North Korea. In the windscreen, the name of the recipients is written. One is Korea Taesong Trading Company, a trading company under the Workers Party that manages Kim Jong-il’s slush funds. It was blacklisted by the U.S. as part of its economic sanctions against the North.

In one video clip, tourist buses pack one side of the parking lot. Another clip shows a queue of several dozens of LNG trucks. A South Korean government official commented, “North Korea depends on China for almost entire amount of fossil fuel it needs.”

Pictured above: The new Air Koryo terminal at Sunan Airport via Air Koryo’s unofficial facebook page.

According to the unofficial fan page:

The new terminal at Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport is in 100% use as of the 15th of July 2011. The new terminal features modernised facilities for luggage, security, customs, border control and the list goes on to an extent.

The building can be seen in the KCNA video “Chinese Art Group Here” dated 2011-7-7.  Sorry, KCNA’s web page does not make it easy to link to videos or stories.  Hopefully they will change that soon.

The building is too recent to appear on Google Earth imagery, which means construction began after 2010-9-15.

Big hat tip to a reader!

Pictured above (Google Earth): The Musan Mine, the DPRK’s largest.  See in Google Maps here.

According to the JoongAng Daily:

During his surprise May visit to China, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il secured free fertilizer and discounted food to help alleviate the impoverished country’s chronic food shortages.

A source in Beijing who monitors North Korea-China relations told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday that Chinese officials agreed to provide 200,000 tons of fertilizer free of charge as well as 500,000 tons of corn at a discount in exchange for rights to North Korea’s abundant natural resources.

“When 200,000 tons of fertilizer is planted on North Korean soil, it can bring about a three-fold increase in the harvest,” the source said. “This can be the equivalent of giving 600,000 tons of food.”

The source added that China agreed to sell the 500,000 tons of corn for half of the international rate, which would be $30 per ton.

The corn, the source said, had already crossed the border into North Korea from northeastern China.

In exchange, Kim will allow China access to his country’s natural resources.

“The two parties agreed to participate in the extraction of buried rare earth minerals in Musan in Hamgyong Province,” the source said. “It’s quite a profit for China as it is thirsty for materials.”

North Korea is estimated to have around 20 million tons of rare earth minerals, which are vital in the production of high-tech goods.

The Beijing-based source said the agreement gives China the responsibility for the cost of building roads to transport the natural resources as well as lending equipment.

In exchange, North Korea will hand over 50 percent of the extracted rare earth minerals free of charge to China, with the rest to be sold to China at international market rates.

Meanwhile, other sources said that Kim also received a health checkup during his stay in China.

“When Kim Jong-il was visiting Yangzhou, he received a special examination from an oriental medicine doctor that the highest Chinese elite have gone to over the years,” a source familiar with North Korean issues said

The source added: “Kim Jong-il has never trusted China’s Western medicine. I heard from a Chinese official that Kim received an oriental medicine diagnosis by taking his pulse and that it did not involve drawing blood.”

Additional Information:

1. Here is a post linking to all the major DPRK food stories this year.

2. The media has reported on other DPRK food barter deals with Cambodia and Myanmar.

3. The role of the Musan Mine in DPRK-PRC relations has been quite interesting.  Here are previous posts on the mine.

Read the full story here:
North got fertilizer on Kim’s trip to China
JoongAng Daily
Chang Se-jeong
2011-8-19

Pictured above (Google Earth): A bus depot in Rakrang-guyok, Pyongyang.  See in Google Maps here.

According to the Daily NK:

Growth and improvement is evident in some areas of the private sector in North Korea, Ishimaru Jiro of ASIAPRESS revealed on the 16th, pointing to the growth of bigger, better private transit concerns and relatively productive coal mining operations as evidence of this trend.

In the past, trains were almost the only viable means of long-distance transportation in North Korea. Then, as private business began to grow and the railways fell into a deep malaise, vehicles such as trucks and cars belonging to military bases, state security and state enterprises were pushed into service to earn money for moving people; this, the so-called ‘servi-cha’ industry.

The servi-cha industry has long been fragmented and small scale; but now transportation companies run by rich individuals (‘donju’) which purchase several buses and hire drivers, guides and mechanics, are acting just as a transit company in a capitalist state would do.

With profit-sharing and bribery as the backbone, a large number of North Korean organs and enterprises have decided to lend their name to these individuals, fuelling the growth and development of a network of sorts.

“From the early 2000s, a high-speed bus network mostly between major cities began to emerge,” Ishimaru, revealing the latest research by ASIAPRESS internal North Korean sources, commented. “The companies are packaged as an enterprise affiliated to some state authority outwardly, but they are actually operated by individuals who pay kickbacks to that authority.”

The People’s Safety Ministry affiliated 116 Task Force Team is one such transportation company, Ishimaru says. It operates buses connecting Shinuiju, South Pyongan Province and Pyongyang. Ordinarily, the bus parks at a station or major public location, and then departs when it is full of passengers going to the next destination.

Here are previous posts on the servi-cha industry.

Read the full sotry here:
Green Shoots of Private Enterprise Growth
Daily NK
2011-8-17

According to Reuters:

North Korean trade officials visited Myanmar this week to discuss a possible deal to import Burmese rice to ease major food shortages at home, a government official said on Wednesday.

A meeting was held on Tuesday in the country’s biggest city, Yangon, but the terms of the agreement and how North Korea planned to pay for the rice were not known, the official told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

A North Korea-flagged cargo ship named Tumangang has been docked in the port city since Monday. Witnesses and a Reuters photographer said the vessel appeared empty and no cargo was seen being loaded or unloaded.

Myanmar was once the world’s biggest rice exporter and has shipped 450,000 tonnes of the grain so far this year, up from 440,000 tonnes for the whole of 2010. It exported 1.1 million tonnes in 2009, mostly to markets in Africa and the Middle East.

…

The Burmese official said the North Koreans who visited Yangon on Tuesday dealt directly with the military-owned Myanma Economic Holding Ltd (MEHL), one of the country’s biggest firms. MEHL enjoys a monopoly of many of the country’s most lucrative import and export produce.

A senior member of from the Myanmar Chambers of Federation of Commerce and Industry said it was likely North Korea would try to import more than just rice, noting that it previously bought Burmese rubber.

Ties between the two reclusive countries were restored in 2007 after a 24-year freeze that followed the failed assassination attempt by North Korea agents on then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during a visit to Myanmar.

The revived ties have worried the United States, which believes Myanmar’s military has sought to develop its own nuclear weapons technology using North Korean expertise.

The DPRK recently engaged Cambodia for a barter food deal.

Here is a compendium of stories related to the DPRK’s alleged food shortage this year.

Read the full story here:
North Korea seeking rice deal with Myanmar
Reuters
Aung Hla Tun
2011-8-10

Pictured above: (L) Mangyongbong-92 in the Wonsan Harbor. (R)  American Budweiser Beer and dried fish served on the Mangyongbong-92

UPDATE 3 (2013-2-26): The Singaporean ship,  Royale Star, has been delivered to Rajin to handle tourist cruises. According to Google Earth imagery (2012-9-21), the Mangyongbong-92 has been returned to its primary port in Wonsan.

UPDATE 2 (2011-9-3): The Telegraph and ITN (UK) put together a humorous take on the cruise here.

UPDATE 1  (2011-8-31): According to the Associated Press:

The maiden voyage — a trial run — arrived Wednesday, carrying dozens of Chinese travel agents, international media and North Korean officials.

About 500 North Koreans lined up with military precision at the Rason port for a red carpet send-off Tuesday, waving small flags and plastic flowers while revolutionary marches such as “Marshal Rides a White Horse” blared over the loudspeakers. Streamers swirled and balloons spiraled skyward.

The Mangyongbong, a refurbished Japanese-built cargo ship with rusty portholes and musty cabins, was used for the 21-hour overnight cruise tracing the length of North Korea’s east coast. Some passengers slept on wooden bunkbeds while others were assigned mattresses on the floor. Simple meals were served cafeteria-style on metal trays.

A plaque on board commemorated a 1972 tour of the boat by North Korea’s founder, late President Kim Il Sung, and bright red posters emblazoned with his sayings decorated the walls.

Park promised a “more luxurious” ship capable of carrying up to 900 passengers, perhaps next year. He said the goal is to bring as many as 4,000 visitors a day from Rason to Mount Kumgang during the peak summer season, up from some 500 per week now.

“People from any country — Jamaica, Japan, Singapore, people from various countries — can come to Rason and don’t require a visa,” said Rason’s vice mayor, Hwang Chol Nam. “That’s the reality.”

But other restrictions remain. Hwang said visitors must book with approved travel agents and remain in their guides’ company throughout. Mobile phones must be left behind in China.

…

It remains to be seen how many Chinese tourists will be interested in the new tours. With incomes rising, Chinese are traveling abroad in rising numbers, thronging tour groups to Europe, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, with a small but growing number making the short trip to neighboring North Korea.

A rush of American visitors is unlikely. A long-standing U.S. State Department travel warning says North Korea strictly monitors visitors and harshly punishes law-breakers and reminds Americans that the two countries do not have diplomatic relations.

A senior South Korean official said North Korea would have trouble drawing investors and tourists after the way the North dealt with South Korean businesses.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry plans to send a letter to foreign embassies asking them not to cooperate with any new Diamond Mountain tours offered by North Korea, said the official, who spoke on condition that his name was not used.

North Korea’s latest moves are likely to upset Hyundai — but that might be the strategy of Pyongyang officials riding out conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s leadership, which ends next year, said Yoon Deok-ryong, an economist at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul.

“If they bring potential investors into the Mount Kumgang area, Hyundai would be upset and try to mobilize possible supporters in Parliament so the next government in South Korea will improve inter-Korean relations,” he said. “That is I think the design of the North Korean government.”

Wang Zhijun, a Chinese hotel manager from Jilin province who joined the trip free of charge, said it won’t be hard to sell the cruise to tourists in his region, which has a large ethnic Korean population and lacks coastline of its own.

But, he said, the price would have to stay low, suggesting around 2000 yuan (US$310) per passenger for an all-inclusive, five-day trip.

“It ought to be very popular. There are a lot of tourists already coming across to Rason,” Wang said. “People from China’s northeast would really like this kind of trip because it’s a cruise. You can enjoy the sea.”

The AFP also reported from the bosom of the Mangyongbong:

It has karaoke and fresh coffee, but the bathrooms on the lower decks are out of water and some guests sleep on the floor. Welcome aboard North Korea’s first cruise ship.

Keen to boost tourism and earn much-needed cash, authorities in the impoverished nation have decided to launch a cruise tour from the rundown northeastern port city of Rajin to the scenic resort of Mount Kumgang.

In a highly unusual move, the reclusive regime invited more than 120 journalists and Chinese tour operators on board the newly-renovated, 39-year-old Man Gyong Bong ship for a trial run of the 21-hour journey.

The vessel left one of Rajin’s ageing piers on Tuesday to the sound of rousing music, as hundreds of students and workers holding colourful flowers stood in line and clapped in unison.

“The boat was only renovated one week ago,” said Hwang Chol Nam, vice mayor of the Rason special economic zone, as he sat on the top deck at a table filled with bottles of North Korean beer, a large plate of fruit, and egg and seafood dishes.

“But it has already made the trip to Mount Kumgang and back. I told people to test the ship to make sure it was safe,” said the 48-year-old, dressed in a crisp suit adorned with a red pin sporting late leader Kim Il-Sung’s portrait.

The project is the brainchild of North Korea’s Taepung International Investment Group and the government of Rason, a triangular coastal area in the northeast that encompasses Rajin and Sonbong cities, and borders China and Russia.

Set up as a special economic zone in 1991 to attract investment to North Korea, it never took off due to poor infrastructure, chronic power shortages and a lack of confidence in the reclusive regime.

Now though, authorities are trying to revive the area as the North’s economy falters under the weight of international sanctions imposed over the regime’s pursuit of ballistic missiles and atomic weapons.

The country is desperately poor after decades of isolation and bungled economic policies, and is grappling with persistent food shortages.

In Rason, Hwang said authorities had decided to focus on three areas of growth — cargo trade, seafood processing and tourism.

North Korea has only been open to Western tourists since 1987 and remains tightly controlled, but more destinations are gradually opening up to tour groups keen to see the country for themselves.

Mount Kumgang, though, is at the heart of a political dispute between North and South Korea after a tourist from the South was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in 2008.

And Rason, where the cruise begins, is a poor area. The tours are tightly monitored, and the only brief contact with locals is with guides, tourist shop owners and hotel employees.

Visitors can expect only brief glimpses of everyday life through the windows of tour buses, as locals — many dressed in monochrome clothing — cycle past or drive the occasional car in otherwise quiet streets.

Small apartment blocks, many of them run down, are interspersed with monuments to the glory of the country’s leaders.

A portrait of current leader Kim Jong-Il and his late father Kim Il-Sung greets visitors as they walk through the vast lobby of the large, white hotel in Rajin.

“The book is a silent teacher and a companion to life,” reads a quotation from the late Kim, hung over glass cases full of books about North Korea, with titles like “The Great Man Kim Jong-Il” and “Korea — a trailblazer.”

The rooms are spartan but clean. But there is no Internet connection anywhere in the area, and the phone lines are unreliable and expensive. Foreign mobile phones are confiscated by tour guides as travellers enter the country.

Hwang said the government in Rason was trying to address communication problems and had signed a 26-year exclusive agreement with a Thai firm to set up Internet in the area, which he hoped would be running in September.

He acknowledged, however, that non-business related websites would likely be blocked, with the media tightly controlled in North Korea.

Many of Rason’s tourists come from neighbouring China. The area sees an average of 150 travellers from China every day during the summer peak season.

One Chinese national from the southeastern province of Fujian who gave only his surname, Li, said he had come to North Korea after a business meeting on the Chinese side of the border.

“We’ve come here mainly to see what changes there have been compared to our country… I like to go to places I’ve never been to before,” he said, standing in front of a huge portrait of Kim Il-Sung.

Simon Cockerell, managing director of Koryo Group, a Beijing-based firm that specialises in tours to North Korea, conceded that Rason may not be everyone’s idea of a holiday, but said its attraction lay in the unknown.

“A lot of people like going to obscure places. And this is the most obscure part of a very obscure country in tourism terms — the least visited part of the least visited country,” he said.

Back on the boat, Chinese tour operators sang karaoke in a dining hall decked out with North Korean flags as a waitress made fresh coffee, while guests drank beer and ate dried fish at plastic tables up on deck.

Inside, some cabins were decked out with bunk beds, while others just had mattresses laid out on the floor. The better rooms had tables, chairs and private washrooms.

Water in bathrooms on the vessel — used as a ferry between North Korea and Japan until 1992 when it started shipping cargo — was unreliable and when available, was brown.

But Park Chol Su, vice president of Taepung, said he had big plans for the tour if it attracted enough visitors.

He wants to invite more than 100 tourist agencies from Europe in October to sample the same trip, in a bid to attract travellers from further afield.

Authorities have promised no visas will be needed to go on the cruise and, if all goes to plan, the ship will be upgraded to a more comfortable one.

“Next year, we aim to get a bigger, nicer boat that can accommodate 1,000 people. We’d rent that from another country in Southeast Asia,” he said.

Some great photos of the trip are here.

A timeline of Kumgang stories from the shooting until today can be found here.

Read the full story here:
North Korea starts group tours from China to mountain resort formerly operated with South
Associated Press
2011-8-31

ORIGINAL POST (2011-9-7): The Mangyongbong-92 is going to be used for tourism. According to Yonhap:

North Korea appears likely to use a ferry to try to attract foreign tourists, a source familiar with the issue said Friday, in what could be an attempt to earn much-needed hard currency.

For decades, the Mankyongbong-92 served as the only shuttle between North Korea and Japan, which have no diplomatic relations, and was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.

The 9,700-ton ship was later used to transport cargoes before Tokyo blocked its entry as part of economic sanctions over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests in 2006.

The ferry has also been suspected of being used for trafficking drugs, counterfeit money and other contraband goods.

North Korea is now preparing to use the vessel as a cruise ship for Chinese and other foreign businessmen during an upcoming international fair in Rason, the country’s special economic zone near China and Russia, the source said.

The North plans to use the ship to take the businessmen on a sightseeing trip in waters off the economic zone at the end of the international fair later this month.

The move is widely seen as the North’s attempt to use the ship for its tourism project.

“It is meaningful in that the Mankyongbong-92 would set sail as a cruise ship for the first time,” said Cho Bong-hyun, a researcher at the IBK Economic Research Institute, noting the North seems to be revitalizing tourism in the economic zone and attempting to attract Chinese tourists to earn hard currency.

The North designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made.

…

Read the full story here:
N. Korea pushing to use ferry to attract foreign tourists
Yonhap
Kim Kwang-tae
2011-8-5

According to the Choson Ilbo:

Chinese tourists arrive in Pyongyang on Friday [July 1, 2011] on the inaugural flight of North Korea’s national airline Air Koryo from Pudong Airport in Shanghai to the North Korean capital, in this photo released by Korean Central News Agency on Saturday.

It is the third direct route to Pyongyang from China after flights from Beijing and Shenyang and will operate every Tuesday and Friday.

Additional information:

1. I am not sure about the flights to Shenyang, but the Beijing-Pyongyang route takes place on Tuesday and Saturday.

2. Air Koryo temporarily ran a Shanghai-Pyongyang route last year for “Chinese volunteers” who wanted to visit North Korea for the 60th anniversary of the Korean war.

3. Air Koryo reportedly launched a Pyongyang-Kuwait route earlier this year.

4. No doubt these Chinese tourists will be enjoying the newly “acquired” properties in the Kumgang resort.

4. UPDATE: This from KCNA (2011-8-9):

Many tourists have come to the DPRK by chartered planes.

The Shanghai-Pyongyang air service, which started on July 1, is available on Tuesday and Friday every week.

Tourism through the Xian-Pyongyang air service began on July 28.

Malaysian tourists will come to Pyongyang through direct flight from Kuala Lumpur from August 19.

Along with the increase of tourists, their entry and exit procedures have been simplified.

Under the agreement between the DPRK International Travel Company and a Chinese immigration office, Pyongyang and Pudong airports offer visa exemption to tourists taking the Shanghai-Pyongyang air service.

1. The Leader’s so bright (I gotta wear shades). Only Kim Jong-il could give a talk to a packed auditorium while wearing sunglasses indoors…

2. As an frequent scuba diver, I was surprised to see this on North Korean TV this week:

I have not seen a dive suit like this outside of a museum.  Antique dive helmets in this style sell for well over US$1,000 and most are from Russia.  It seems like the DPRK could export its aging scuba gear, use the proceeds to buy newer/safer dive equipment, and have some cash left over.  The picture was taken at the Tanchon Port, which is being renovated.

3. Poor Pororo:

Back in early May, Pororo came out of the closet as a joint-Korean creation. With the implementation of new DPRK-US trade regulations (EO 13570), many were worried that the US was rolling up the welcome mat for Pororo videos—but he will be fine. OFAC explains why. Steve Park’s importation of Pyongyang Soju will also be fine.

4. North Korean Wave:

This week the DPRK launched a new television drama about its ladies national football team.  The show’s premier was announced on the KCTV evening news on June 18th and so far it has aired every day this week beginning on the 19th.  I have all of the episodes (so far) on my computer, and they are very fun to watch–even without subtitles.

The show appears to be shot on location at the ladies team’s training complex in Pyongyang (38.994877°, 125.811791°–right next to the Taedonggang Brewery):

And just as interesting, this show is the first example (of which I am aware) in which KCTV seems to directly engage in product placement advertising for a foreign-made product.  Here is a series of screen shots from the first four episodes:

The coach never takes off his FILA jacket. How long before all of the DPRK’s aspiring footballers want a jacket just like that one?

Interestingly, according to the FILA Wikipedia page: “Founded in 1911 in Italy, Fila has been owned and operated from South Korea since a takeover in 2007.”

I have uploaded a short sassy clip of the show to YouTube.  Watch it here.  Here is a story in Yonhap about the show (Korean).

Pictured above (Google Earth): Rason’s three ports: Rajin, Sonbong, Ungsang

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2011-6-21

North Korea and China hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on June 8 for the launch of the joint development project in Hwanggumpyong Island near the DPRK-China border. On the next day, the launching ceremony for the Rason Economic and Trade Zone took place.

The KCNA reported on April 27 that the modernization projects for the Rajin, Sonbong, and Ungsang Ports are to take place. According to the report, “These three ports in Rason City have the geographical advantage for maritime transportation. . . . Rajin Port, surrounded by Daecho and Socho Islands, is an ideal harbor that provides security and excellent marine conditions for docking ships.”

Currently at the Rajin Port, a number of equipment, fishery products, and processed foods are handled. An official from the Rason City People’s Committee stated, “There are plans of advancing Rajin, Sonbong, and Ungsang Ports even further to double the capacity and cargo.”

Recently, news on the Rason Economic and Trade Zone by the KCNA can be heard more frequently as North Korea is making an effort to advertise the development of this area. Recent reports covered news on the preferential tariff system, development program, and light industry zone.

The preferential tariff system of the Rason Economic and Trade Zone was adopted as means to lure more foreign investment into the area and improve the North Korea’s image as being more cooperative and supportive toward foreign businesses. Preferential treatment is being granted to foreign investors in order to turn the area into a major entrepot, export producer, and financial and tourist hub of Northeast Asia. One North Korean official stated, “Rason Economic and Trade Zone has favorable conditions to grow as a major trade zone. There are plans of constructing state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and light industry factories to develop the area as a major export base.”

China and Russia are said to be paying special attention to the Rason Port development. China is already known to have invested in Pier 1 at Rajin Port and Russia in Pier 3.

North Korea has taken various legal measures to develop the area since Kim Jong Il’s field guidance visit to Rason City in December 2009. Rason City was designated as a “special city” in January 4, 2010 and the Rason Economic and Trade Zone Law was passed on January 27, 2010.

Additional Information:
1. A Swiss firm is alleged to have rented Rajin’s Pier No. 2, but it has not.

2. Here and here is some background information on the new Hwanggumphyon SEZ.  Here is some more information on the Rason ground-breaking and Chinese investment tour.

Pictured above (Google Earth): The approximate route of the new Kowon-Hamhung highway

Here are the KCNA stories on the new highway in chronological order:

Pavement Project of Kowon-Hamhung Highway Finished

Pyongyang, May 26 (KCNA) — The pavement project of the Kowon-Hamhung highway in South Hamgyong Province was finished recently. The highway began to be reconstructed on an expansion basis in mid-March.

Some 600,000 cubic meters of earth were cut or filled on the ground, over 250,000 cubic meters of sand and gravel tamped and nearly 700,000 square meters of road paved with concrete.

Trees have been planted and flowerbeds made on both sides of the highway. Slopes are being swarded and accident-preventing stones and waymarks installed.

Revetment, conduit and culvert projects will be completed soon.

The reconstructed highway will help facilitate transportation in the area and promote the country’s economic growth.

Highway between Kowon and Hamhung Reconstructed

Pyongyang, May 31 (KCNA) — The highway between Kowon and Hamhung was successfully rebuilt.

The completion of this project helps to satisfactorily ensure the cargo transport for various domains of national economy, provide people with good conditions for travel and radically improve the environment in this area.

Builders finished the projects for paving the highway and building many structures, etc. in a matter of 60 odd days.

More than 40,000 trees of good species were planted and an area covering hundreds of thousands of square meters was put in turf, turning the landscape of the highway beautiful.

New Motorway Opened to Traffic in DPRK

Pyongyang, June 17 (KCNA) — A project for rebuilding Kowon-Hamhung motorway on an expansion basis has been completed in the DPRK.

During the project, the army and the people carried out concrete pavement and building of scores of bridges and retaining walls in single-minded unity.

The completion of project made it possible to contribute to the economic development of the country and renewed the looks of the land to meet the requirement of the Songun era.

A ceremony of opening the road to traffic took place on Friday. Present there were Premier Choe Yong Rim, Minister of the

People’s Armed Forces Kim Yong Chun, Chief Secretary of the South Hamgyong Provincial Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kwak Pom Gi, officials of relevant organs, servicepersons, officials and builders of South Hamgyong Province, working people and helpers.

Conveyed at the ceremony was a message of thanks of the WPK Central Military Commission addressed to soldier-builders and inhabitants and helpers of South Hamgyong Province who performed labor feats in the project.

There were a report and speeches there.

The highway from Hamhung to Kowon, however, is only half of the distance needed to connect Hamhung to the Pyongyang-Wonsan paved highway.  I am unsure if the remainder of this route has already been completed or if it remains to be done as a separate project.

The distance of road that was paved is approximately 60km.