North Korea’s ambitious “20×10 regional development policy” is taking shape in Kaesong as officials break ground on new industrial factories in Jangpung County. In a significant move, the central committee overseeing this national initiative recently met with local Kaesong officials to hammer out details for the factories’ operation, underscoring the regime’s push to revitalize the struggling regional economy.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in Kaesong said Monday that the non-permanent central committee for promoting the 20×10 policy and the Kaesong People’s Committee discussed the production plan for the factories to be built in Jangpung County and the specific direction of the project, including the future economic role of the factories and the training of technical specialists.
“Jangpung County’s specialty products are corn, ginseng and soybeans,” the source said. “A new agricultural processing factory, a traditional handicraft factory and a food processing factory using these regional specialties will be built.”
Maxar WorldView-1 satellite imagery on July 18 showed the factories being built side by side on 3.8 hectares of land in Jangpung County.
Construction of three factories appears to be underway at a site about 700 meters southwest of the Jangpung County Sports Stadium. Compared to a photo taken on January 13, 2022, the number of greenhouses on the site has decreased from 10 to seven, and new buildings have been added.
At the recent working-level meeting, officials discussed how to improve the production capacity of the new agricultural goods processing factory and the food processing factory under construction in Jangpung County, and how to preserve the cultural value of the goods to be produced in the new traditional crafts factory.
The non-permanent central committee for promoting the 20×10 regional development policy emphasized the necessity and importance of regional factory construction, arguing that the construction of the new factories would increase local income by creating jobs and stimulate the regional economy through the sale of food products produced at the factories, such as ginseng liquor and red pepper paste.
The meeting also discussed the operation of training centers to produce technical specialists. The non-permanent central committee for promoting the 20×10 regional development policy ordered the Kaesong municipal authorities to conduct a systematic three-month training course for technicians between July 1 and the end of September. It called for the training to be consistent in order to cultivate professionalism in the factories’ production techniques, mechanical operations and production quality management.
“The leadership keeps talking about the need to train technicians who can use the latest equipment to keep the factories running normally,” the source said.
“Some residents of Jangpung County are thinking about changing jobs, thinking that it’s a good idea to work where there is food,” the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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