The Pyeongjin Bicycle Plant, a North
Korea-China joint venture company, has a market share of seventy percent in
North Korea, according to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency [KOTRA].
KOTRA’s branch office in Dalian released a
report on August 13th stating that bikes produced by the plant over the last
decade hold an ever climbing market share in the midst of
Pyongyang’s bicycle boom.
Located in
Pyongyang, the Pyeongjin Bicycle Plant was founded in October 2005 by China’s Tenjin Trade Company and the
Foreign Economic Cooperation Committee of North Korea. Kim Jong Il personally visited the facilities upon the company’s
establishment, which served as a symbol of enhanced economic cooperation between
China and North Korea.
The KOTRA report also noted that the
Pyeongjin Bicycle Plant currently produces 500 bicycle models, including the
‘Moranbong’ and the ‘Jilpoong.’ The factory churns out around 500-800 daily
with annual sales reaching 30-40,000.
We can expect these numbers to jump in coming years, the report stated, noting, “North Korea has continued to build a
number of bike routes in Pyongyang since mid-May this year, leading to
assumptions that the production and usage of bicycles will continue to
increase.”
