{"id":113905,"date":"2026-08-09T21:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/113905\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:38:56","slug":"north-koreas-new-factories-sit-idle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/113905\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea’s new factories sit idle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Aerial<\/a>Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, reported on Nov. 15, 2024, that Kim Jong Un toured a local industrial factory construction site in Jaeryong county, South Hwanghae province, the day before. The paper said Kim inspected construction progress and equipment production and assembly at food and daily necessities factory sites there.<\/p>\n

North Korea is building new local industrial factories nationwide under its \u201cRegional Development 20\u00d710 Policy.\u201d The policy<\/a> calls for building modern factories in 20 cities and counties every year for a decade, but many of the plants cannot produce normally<\/a> as they lack raw materials and face chronic power shortages. As a result, factory workers are being sent to mobilization work instead of production.<\/p>\n

A source in Ryanggang province told Daily NK on Friday that the state\u2019s push for regional development brought new factories to each region, including food, daily necessities and garment plants. But the source said \u201cfactories where production is actually taking place are rare\u201d as the authorities are mobilizing some factory workers to construction sites and rural areas while others are sent to mines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In some parts of Ryanggang province, factory workers have reportedly been sent to magnesite mines in Tanchon, South Hamgyong province. The postings last for extended periods.<\/p>\n

Authorities mobilized one recently married factory worker to the Tanchon<\/a> mines for months. He rarely comes home and his new wife complains, \u201cIt\u2019s hard even to see my husband\u2019s face.\u201d The factories were newly built, the source added, but workers spend more time at mobilization sites than at production sites.<\/p>\n

Factories built, but rarely running<\/p>\n

North Korea has long run local industrial factories that produce food and daily necessities, but prolonged economic difficulties and aging facilities have reportedly halted production at many factories or sharply cut their output.<\/p>\n

Despite this, North Korean authorities are pressing ahead with the Regional Development 20\u00d710 Policy. Officials aim to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties every year with a view to raise North Koreans\u2019 basic material and cultural living standards within a decade.<\/p>\n

New factories alone have not solved the problem. Raw materials and electricity remain insufficient, so production is inevitably disrupted. Factory buildings and equipment are in place, but actual operating days remain limited, so workers are reportedly mobilized again and again for construction projects or farm work instead of production.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe factories were newly built, but workers are sent out for mobilization more often than they work in production,\u201d the source said. \u201cUnless the raw material and electricity problems are resolved, it won\u2019t be easy to normalize production.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when factories produce goods and sell them cheaply, North Korean people avoid buying them because of poor quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFactory made fermented soybean or chili paste costs about 3,000 won per kilogram, but people rarely buy it,\u201d the source said. \u201cHomemade paste costs far more, 30,000 won per kilogram, but many people still seek it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homemade food tastes better and is higher quality than factory made food, according to the prevailing view. North Korean people with more money to spare often buy homemade food despite the price gap, the source explained.<\/p>\n

Authorities reportedly supply unsold factory made food to military units and shock brigades \u2014 labor units mobilized for state construction and other projects \u2014 among others.<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, reported on Nov. 15, 2024, that Kim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[119,31,451,5059,4608,6103],"class_list":["post-113905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","tag-economy","tag-korea","tag-markets","tag-ryanggang-province","tag-south-hamgyong-province","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}