INDUSTRIAL INSTALLATIONS IN THE CH'ONGJIN AREA, NORTH KOREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A005300610002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2007
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: November 1, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005300610002-7
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Industrial Installations in the
Ch'ongjin Area, North Korea
This material contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
Ing of the Espionage Laws, Title 18, V.B.C. Sees. 793
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law.
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR. 12 November 1954
NO. OF PAGES 2
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1. In late June 1954 a gasoline depot managed by the Ch'ongJin (N 41-47, E 129-49)
(EB6826) Land Transportation Office was at EB645307. The depot was in an area
surrounded by a barbed wire fence, which extended about 60 meters on the east,
50 on the west, 25 on the south, and 30 on the north. The depot office was
outside the enclosure at the southern entrance to the compound. It was in a
building about 10 meters long and 5 meters wide with wooden walls and a wedge-
shaped tin roof. In late January a large gasoline tank about 6 meters long and
3 meters in diameter could be seen from the road inside a tin-roofed structure
with no walls. Fifty-gallon drums were piled in layers to a height of 3 to 3-1/2
meters. These drums covered an area within the compound 40 to 50 meters long
and 25 to 30 meters wide.
2. Reconstruction of the Kim Ch'aek Iron Works, which was begun in August 1953, was
scheduled to be completed in February 1955 in time for the completion ceremony on
1 March. In early December 1953 there were about 4,000 male and female employees
at the works. Recruitment of additional personnel was being handled by Labor Party
branches and government agencies. Many farmers responded to the recruitment
campaign because they were told that factory employees were well paid and were
provided rations. Cameramen from the National Motion Picture Studio were photo-
graphing the entire reconstruction process. Upon completion, the film was to be
shown in the USSR and in satellite nations.
3. On 23 August 1954 an ore pile 30 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 1 meter high was
observed on the platform of the Sohang railroad station at EB663254. Ten laborers
were loading the ore on a small train bound for the Kim Ch'aek Iron Works.
4. In April 1954 the National Kyongsong Brickyard at EB522119 was producing 70,000
bricks a week in a 7-day process. Clay was procured locally. The bricks were
sent to Ch'ongjin and to Nanam (41-43N 129-41E).(EB5718) by truck. About 300
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 Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005300610002-7
men and women were employed at the factory. The majority of these employees were
local residents. The kiln, which was brick, was about 40 meters long, 7 meters
wide, and 5 meters high, and had a chimney about 25 meters high. The building
housing the offices is 15 meters long, 7 meters wide, and 3 meters high. It
has a wedge-shaped slate roof and clay walls. A similar building is ten meters
long and serves as a warehouse. A building about 20 meters long lacks a wall
at one end. Plans were made to enlarge the plant in June 1954, but orders were
received cancelling the plans. In May 1954 the Provincial Saenggiryong Brickyard
was observed at EB527116. The kiln, which was about 60 meters east of the
highway, was similar to that at the Kyongsong brickyard.
5, In early July 1954 the Kyongsong Pottery Factory was under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Pottery Control of the Ministry of Chemical and Construction Materials
Industries. The factory was north of the Kyongsong railroad at EB547129. The
office building was about 20 meters long, 6 meters wide, and 5 meters high. It
had wooden walls and a wedge-shaped tin roof. A building 30 meters long, 10
meters wide, and 8 meters high with clay walls and a thatched roof housed a
furnace in one half, while the other half was used as a drying room. Grinding
and mixing were done in a building 10 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 5 meters
high, with clay walls and thatched roof. Molds were made in two other buildings
with identical dimensions. These two buildings had wooden walls and tin roofs.
Of the 320 male and female employees at the factory, 20 were office workers and
the rest, laborers. They worked in three shifts of eight hours daily. A member
of the local armed self-defense unit, who was posted at a guard house at the
entrance to the factory, kept the employees' labor cards while they were at work.
Products of the factory included such items as rice bowls, cups, and ashtrays,
which were sold in the local consumers' guild stores and in national department
stores throughout the country. The pottery was picked up at the factory by
trucks belonging to the consignees.
6. In early June 1954 the Chuul Pottery Factory at EB 505040 was making a great
number of electrical accessories. In February 1953 four piles of insulators
were observed at EB5O5041. Each pile was about 10 meters long, 5 meters wide,
and 2-1/2 meters high, and was covered with straw bags.
Approved For Release 2007/06/29: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005300610002-7