[imText1]On October 2nd, the first day of the Summit, North Korean state newspaper the Rodong Shinmun reported on its front page a piece titled “Our General congratulates volunteers for road construction in Samjiyeon and on Bukchung-Hyesan road.”
The newspaper delivered Kim Jong Il’s message of appreciation for the workers’ hard labor. However, it did not give a detailed account of construction results.
An inside source said, “Here, we call this road the Hyesan-Dancheon Military Road. Right now, we are conducting a cement paving operation on some portions of the road.”
Some defectors from North Korea testified that the initial name for the road was Hyesan-Dancheon Military Road. Designed to be used in time of emergency when the general roads and railroads are vulnerable to bombardment, the road passes through Hyesan of Yangkang Province and the Baekam Mountains (northern mountain areas and inland areas).
Beginning in the Daejin Labor District in Bocheon of Yangkang Province, the road passes through Baekam and is connected to Dancheon, South Hamkyung Province. It also goes through Bocheon and Baekam Virgin Forest.
Constructed of sand and clay, the Hyesan-Dancheon Military Road was completed in 1990. Since then, road maintenance has been conducted every year which entails weeding and hardening the road surface.
The insider said, “In 1998, when the March of Tribulation (Mass starvation period in the 1990s) was reaching its zenith, the massive expansion work on the road was conducted with money made from selling food supplied by the UN.” The insider proceeded, “At that time, the width of the road was extended from five meters to nine meters. And the road was dug up to a depth of sixty centimeters and graveled, so that tanks can operate in a state of emergency.” Nowadays, some parts of the road are being paved with cement.
Besides the Hyesan-Dancheon road, there was already another road in the region, which starts in Hyesan of Yangkang province, and passes through Woonheung and Kilju of North Hamkyung province, leading all the way to Hyesan again. The locals are using this road to come and go between North and South Hamkyung Province.
What kind of explanation could there be for the creation of the Hyesan-Dancheon road? The road is barely used by the locals. Nonetheless, it is repaired every year, and recently its expansion works have been completed. No doubt that the road is for military use.
The insider added, “Just after North Korea seceded from the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1993, the state promptly began the repair works on the road. Workers in our factory were mobilized to dig up frozen ground for one month. Since then, every year the state calls out workers from neighboring collective farms and factory complexes to do maintenance works on the road.”
Cho Chul Min (pseudonym, male, 29), who defected from North Korea in 2005 asserts that the road is a “secret road” for Kim Jong Il’s escape to China in an emergency.
The construction of the “secret road” began for the purpose of providing a safe pathway for Kim Jong Il and his family to escape to China in a time of war. The construction went on from 1987 to 1996 and was completed in several phases. The most famous secrete road was the one constructed between Changsung and Hyangsan county in North Pyongan province.
Mr. Cho said, “Although the locals do not use the road, it is repaired every year.” Mr. Cho also said, “The width of the secret road in Pyongan province was constructed to be three meters wide in the first phase, and was extended to nine meter in the second phase.”
If Mr. Cho is right, Kim Jong Il must have had secret roads made in other places, including the one in North Pyongan province, in preparation for a quick escape.
As a side note, Rodong Shinmun said that the Shock Brigade for the Propagation of Party Ideology (June18 Shock Brigade) who contributed to the construction of Samsoo Power Plant, did the construction in Samjiyeon and on the Bukchung-Hyesan road.
