The North Korean government has named Chagang Province a “Special Songun (military-first) Revolutionary Zone” and has reportedly created plans to designate the province a strategic region for the military. The region is mountainous, and harbors ideal terrain in which to conceal the country’s nuclear weapons.
North Korea has widely publicized its intent to shut down the country’s nuclear program as demanded by the international community. This intent has been exemplified by an event scheduled for May 23 to close its nuclear site in Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, prior to the planned US-DPRK summit. There have been reports, however, that the North Korean authorities are making efforts to conceal the country’s nuclear weapons and associated material.
“Designating Chagang Province as a Special Songun Revolutionary Zone was discussed during a lecture for members of the Ministry of State Security last month,” a high-level source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on May 18.
The source reported that the “lecturer said that making Chagang Province a strategic foothold for the military in the face of modern warfare is the legacy of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il […] He emphasized that the project must go forward without any issues because Kim Jong Un was doing it out of respect for his father’s and grandfather’s legacies.”
Chagang Province has over 98% of its area covered by mountains. This renders it largely unsuitable for traditional industry, but North Korea has long developed military-related industries in the province for strategic reasons.
The province is located on the border with China, and there are reportedly underground tunnels in which high-level North Korean officials, including Kim Jong Un, can escape across the border. There are also archives containing material on the Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un regimes in underground bunkers in the region.
“Nuclear weapons can be hidden anywhere, but the North Korean authorities have chosen, it seems, a place where even satellites will have difficulty locating them,” a source in Chagang Province said.
“Hiding the nuclear weapons and material there also means the authorities plan to store them in a highly contained facility.”
The North Korean authorities have already created airtight plans for storage, according to the source. The government is focusing on a plan to strengthen the ideological background of residents in the region to prevent any secrets from leaking to the outside world. The authorities also appear to be preventing free movement in the province as the area becomes fortified.
“The North Korean authorities have ordered that an organizational system similar to that used in Pyongyang must be implemented in Chagang Province, and efforts to strengthen the ideological background of local residents so they meet the standards of those living in such a special zone must continue,” the Chagang -based source added.
He also predicted that some residents would be expelled from certain areas of the province, stating, “Orders have come down that anyone who spent more than a year in hard labor must be expelled from major towns in the province to the countryside.”
“The provincial police’s resident registration department will hold its annual investigation to confirm that each resident is living in the location they are registered in […] Chagang Province will become similar to Pyongyang, where ordinary people cannot gain entry very easily,” the Pyongyang-based source explained.
“The North Korean authorities have created a new plan to build checkpoints to control the people, cars and supplies that enter and exit the province. For example, there is a checkpoint to be built on the road that runs between Huichon, Chagang Province, and Hyangsan, North Pyongan Province, that will be under the direct control of the Ministry of State Security.”
