In line with the emphasis placed on
resolving the problems with North Korea’s power supply in Kim Jong Un’s New
Year’s Address, trading companies are importing equipment needed for power
stations and power transmission in large quantities from China. Moreover, state emphasis on green energy has seen a marked jump in the number of solar panels entering North Korea as of late.
On the 28th, our Daily NK reporter spoke
with a source in North Pyongan Province, who informed us that state-run enterprises and organizations are jumping in response to the instructions from
the Central Party to “mobilize the strength of whole Party and nation
to resolve the energy supply problem.” In order to increase the developmental
capacity of the country, the Party is emphasizing working together to actively develop underutilized natural energy resources and import not only equipment for power stations but also general electronic goods into North Korea on a large scale.
Sources in Pyongyang and South Pyongan
Province corroborated this news.
Recently, automatic
switches and alternating current contactors, as well as other supplies needed for power
stations, have been pouring into North Korea via China. The equipment is produced by relevant manufacturers in Tianjin and Shanghai before making its way to North Korean-helmed trading companies, which send the goods through to Sinuiju by way of the customs house in Dandong.
“Orders from the Central Party have come
down, putting trading companies on emergency alert to import the supplies needed
to modify and reinforce aging thermoelectric power plants in central and
eastern areas of Pyongyang and the Bukchang Thermoelectric Power Plant.
Chinese-made contactor prices range from 35-500 yuan per device, and
North Korea has imported $30,000 worth of contactors and automatic switches in
January alone,” the source explained.
In addition to parts for power stations, she added, electronic accessories are increasingly commonplace among the nation’s ever-expanding web of official markets, driven by demand from consumers who are eager to snatch up goods like electric chargers, batteries,
cables, and telephone cables.
Also, the rapid rise in popularity of solar power among North Koreans as a comparatively reliable source of electricity has quickly given way to a variety of solar panel make and designs pouring into the country. Where ordinary consumers harnessing the sun’s rays via Chinese-made panels, higher-ranking cadres
import and utilize variants from places as close as right below the DMZ to others all the way across the world, namely Egypt.
Most are on the hunt for
the relatively expensive products produced in electronic superpowers like Japan or South Korea, but stringent customs
regulations officially prohibit the importation of anything save Chinese
products. But as expected in modern North Korea, these measures prove little barrier to cadres with the right connections and experience, able to exert pressure on customs officials to allow Japanese and/or South Korean products to pass through for their personal use.
“Failing this, resorting to bribery is an ironclad, and frequently implemented, backup plan,” the source pointed out.
However, at least where solar panels are concerned, their needs may be met at home sooner than they think. In a promising sign for domestic production, some state-run factory management officials, keen to get a leg up and capitalize on the renewable energy trend, are looking to manufacture solar panels themselves, and have already begun importing the raw materials to do so from China.
