NORTH KOREAN INDUSTRIES RECOVERING RAPIDLY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700190213-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 213
• Publication Date: July 14, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUNTRY Korea, China, USSR DATE OF
CLASSIFICATION COI4FIDEIITLiL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO t3ROADCASTS CD NJ.
1
------? ncuuumlc - inaustrisi recovery
HDW
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers
WHERE
PUBLISHED Berlin, The Hague, ?eiping
DATE
PUBLISHED 17 Jan-31 h'.er 1954
LANGUAGE German, Dutch, Chinese
DATE DIST. /~? Jul 1954
N0. OF PAGES 4
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
IIORTIi KOP,EAiI I;IDLSTRIES RECOVERING RAPIDLY
(Comment: TY.e following rcpc?r*. ^ives information on the 154
economic rehabilitation plan cf I;orth Kurea and the extent of its
industrial recovery since the F;orean war. The information is based
on East Berlin, Hague, and Peipln~, papers covering the period
17 January through 31 i?!e^ch 1954.]
TO INCREASE Zi7DUSTR L1L PRODUCTION BY 60.8 PERCEtIT OVER 1953 -- Berlin, Ileues
Deutschland, 23 Mar 51t
The cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea recently approved
the 1954 plan for the :?econstruction and development of the republic's economy.
The plan calls for an increase. in industrial production by 60.8 percent over
1953. Ail fields of the econom?/ are to ?cac.: their p:?ewar fKoreanl i~..~r ..+.+.,.,
.. J:. .u. __..-.
Machine menufacturinC, ^_her.,ica1 production, cr,nstructicn-material produc-
tion, agricultural implcaeut m?nui'acturin3, and lumber production atarted in
early 1954. Ir. P'yonyun~ the construction of a textile mill is almost com-
pleted and n new raper mill is e::pected to be rear';, for onera'aon by the end
of 1954.
Also by the end of 1954 the restoraticn work on the Yangdok-Ch'onsong
electric railroad line is to be completed, and regular express-train traffic
is to be resumed on the mayor lines throughout North i;orea.
During 1954, 1,?355 new stores of n11 kinds are to be opened ir, cities
e?nd 559 are to be opened in villages.
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TO EXPAIID LIGHT INDUSTRIES __ The Hague, Economische Voorlichting, 19 Mar 54
It is reported from North Korey that the P'yongyan6 Pextile Mi11 is to be
expanded to 60,000 spindles; the [annual] cotton cloth production is to rise
to 50-60 million meters; a dyeing and bleaching plae.t is to be built with
Soviet assistance; and shoe factories with a total production capacity of 20
to 25 million pairs of rubber sY.oes per year will be built wi~h machinery
supplied by the People's Republic of China. The capacity of the meat- and
fish-packing industry if also to b~. expanded.
METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY SURPASSES JAIIUAP,Y_~DgUARy PRODUCTIOII QUOTA -- Feiping,
Kung-,]en Jih-Pao, 31 Idar 54
Pyongyang, 30 Idarch (Asin-hua) -- Many North Korean metallurgical plants
which have partly recovered from the war have surpassed their January-February
production quotas for 1954. The average output was 106.9 percent of the quota
and, except for two irorworY.s, the plants exceeded their indivi.dusl quotas by
1.1 to 20.7 percent. The costs were lowered by an average of 2.4 to 3.8 per-
cent.
The Song,~in Steelworks is already producing many types of steel products
representing 20 percent of the entire industry output.
~ Ever since the Korean truce the North Korean
stress on restoring the metallurgical industr Ogivernment has laid great
the electric furnnce No 2 of the Kangson Steel orks resumedysteeteproductione
The Song~in Steelworks also resumed operation of its four electric furnaces,
two roiling machines, tempering and heating equipment, and other equipment.
The Hwanghae Ironworks, the Kimch'ak Ironworks, the Munp'yongni Leadworks,
the Ch'ong~in Steelworks, the Ilamp'o Steel Refinery, the Puryong Ffetalworks,
and others also have practically recovered. Recently, two smelters have been
repaired at the Munp'yongni Leadworks, and two smelters were put into working
condition at tha Nampo ;;teal Refinery. The Munp'yongni and Nampo plants will
be producing lead and steel, respectively, by the next quarter.
In the ferrous metals field, a workman at the steel-tempering shop of the
Song,]in Steelworks led other workers to study and adopt advanced Soviet steel-
tempering techniques, and raised efficiency 1.5 times.
In the nonferrous field, the workers of the Munp'yongni ieadworks rebuilt
two smelters and increased their capacity to twice the prewar level. Whin
~e=.~~iw~, ~~, i Aprii ly>4, the annual production of
crude lead-should-reach?226 percent and that of electrolytic lead 81 percent
of the prewar level.
The reY.abilitation of the North Korean metallurgical industry has been
hastened greatly b~ help :rom friendly countries. The People's Republic of
China sent a large amount of cement, coke, fire hrick, and construction equip-
ment.
The North Koreans wish to restore metallurgical production to at least
35 percent of the prewar level by the end of 1954.
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IFtONWORK5 AND CANT FACTORY RESLME OPERATIONS -- Peiping, Jen-min Jih-pao,
17 Jan 54
Reconstructio^ of three kilns was started on 2II August 1953 at the Hwanghae
Ironworks. By 30 September 1953, one of the kilns was repaired and put into
operation. At present this kiln is producing Pine quality firebricks.
The oxygen shop at the Hwanghae lronworks increased its operating effi-
ciency after the installation of a new machine shipped from the USSR. The
rolling mills are already in operation at this ironworks, and some workers
have surpassed their individual production quotas by as much as 40 percent.
The casting department is also in operation and is producing pots, gridirons,
and plows.
The Sunghori Cement Factory has been in operation since 9 August 1953 and
is now producing from 130 to 140 tons of cement daily. The cement produced
here is used for reconstruction work in P'yongyaiig and at the Hwanghae Iron-
works.
CHINESE ARMY ENGIIfEERS HELP REPAIR BRIDGES -- Peiping, Kung-jen Jih-pao,
17 Mar 54
Pyongyang, 16 tdarch (Hsin-hua) -- Korean soldiers and troops of the
Chinese Volunteer Army have been working together to repair the seventh bridge
over the Puk-taedong-gang. A considerable amount of equipment and materials
had to be brought to the site by rail. Since there was no siding near the
bridge, the work trains had to use the main track to unload, thereby deleyiug
the movement of regular trains. To solve this problem the Chinese Army Engi-
neer Corps installed a switch and laid a spur track close to the bridge,
thereby avoiding interference with the main traffic.
TOKCH'ON RAILROAD TRANSPORTS COAL 24 HOURS DAILY -- Feiping, Kung-jen Jih-pao,
31 Mar 54
Traffic was resumed recently on the Tokch'on coal-mine railroad in P'yongan-
namdo. The trains transport high-quality anthracite coal 24 hours a day from
Changsan-ni in Tokct~'on-gur, to factories and inhabitants in Pyongyang and other
industrial centers. On the return trip, these trains bring from the cities the
materials used for restoring the mines and the goods needed by the workers. Be_
fore the [Korean] war the Chnngsan-ni coal mine produced 250,000 tans of an-
thra
it
l
c
e coa
annually.
Ou:?ing the war, this :?ailroad was badl;,~ damaged by the US and Rhee armies.
Zn September 1953, a detachment of railroad troops of the Chinese People's
Volunteer Army started rehabilitatiop work on this line.
The rehabilitation wor3t was diffi:ult and -included the repair of 19 bx?idges
crossing the Puk-taedong-gap,.;, of which 15 were demolished by JS bombn. The
restoring of the roadbed and ballast alone required moving some 49,000 fang
[one fang equals about 100 cubic feet] of, earth and stones,
Since the materials for repairing the steel girders we:?e lacking, troops
of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had to salvage from the river the ma-
terials which had been bombed and had sunk. They also had to gather old ma-
terials from a distance as far as 10 miles or more. Five companies of soldiers
worked day and night to salvage parts -- 50 types and 3,100 items in all.
They salvaged materials worth 2 billion yuan.
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The laying of girders started on 30 November 1953? During construction,
the work was speeded up from 3 hours and 25 minutes required for each span to
one hour and 56 minutes per spay. The Whole project was finished on 9 Decem-
ber with the completion of a 397.76-meter steel bridge.
Among the Chinese troops who laid the rails was the Chang Tsai-hua team
which made a record on the Ch'er.g-tu--Chungking Railway by laying 5.7 kilo-
meters in one d?y.
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