Workers unload bags of cement from a truck on the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, Nov. 6, 2014.
Workers unload bags of cement from a truck on the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, Nov. 6, 2014.
Read a version of this story in Korean
North Korea’s largest cement producer has issued an appeal to smaller cement factories to boost production amid shortages, but without specifying how they will get raw materials, residents told Radio Free Asia.
The residents said that because the early February appeal sent by the Sangwon Cement Complex is vaguely written, so it is essentially an order for the people to solve the problem themselves.
It lists several of the government’s more ambitious construction projects, and then says there’s a desperate need for more cement production -- but doesn’t spell out any specific orders or actions, they said.
In the past, whenever cement was needed for public projects, residents themselves were on the hook to go out and gather sand and gravel to use as raw materials.
In those cases, it was a direct order. This time, it is implied, they said.
“(The appeal) emphasized that cement is urgently needed everywhere,” a resident from the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“However, most workers and residents who have read the appeal are reacting as if it is absurd,” he said. “This is because in rural areas, the appeal is no different from an instruction that we must solve the problem on our own without expecting the central government to provide materials.”
A construction site in Pyongyang, North Korea April 17, 2017.
A construction site in Pyongyang, North Korea April 17, 2017.
According to the resident, the projects listed in the appeal include the Pyongyang housing project, which the government has been touting since it started in 2021. It aims to build 10,000 new homes per year, and a total of 50,000 by the end of this year, as well as other projects intended to develop the countryside by modernizing homes there.
Many people began to complain, saying that if the central government ordered the construction, it should also guarantee materials, the resident said.
“The Sangwon Cement Complex is a company affiliated with the central committee. Its electricity and raw materials (limestone) are fully provided by the central party,” he said. “How can the appeal demand increased cement production from local cement companies when there is no electricity or limestone?”
Related Stories
North Korea Mobilizes Women for Border Wall Construction Near China
North Korea Mobilizes Women for Border Wall Construction Near China
### North Korea Mobilizes Women for Border Wall Construction Near China
### North Korea Orders Nationwide School Renovations, Sends Bill to Parents
### Road rage: North Koreans forced to pitch in and patch potholes
The complex issued this appeal because the party needs more cement to complete this year’s construction promises, a resident from the same province who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA.
“Most construction currently underway across the country is utilizing the labor of the military and storm troopers,” he said, referring to “special forces” units that provide construction labor as their primary mission. “But the government realizes that they are running out of cement, so they issued this appeal to supply the military despite the shortage.
Though the appeal was issued by the Sangwon Cement Complex, it is essentially an order from the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, the second resident said, because Kim is in essentially charge of everything and has been publicly heralding the home construction projects as national successes.
But the lack of cement has meant that builders have been cutting corners to keep up with quotas.
“Rural houses are mostly built with soil mixed with three components (clay, lime, and decomposed granite),” he said. “The authorities have come out and called for increased cement production, saying that the (next) party congress should be celebrated with proud achievements,” he added.
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.