North Korea is boasting about exceptional output from new factories built as part of its 20×10 regional development policy. However, ordinary North Koreans see little tangible change in their daily lives and wonder where all these new products are actually going.
“Three administrative regions in North Pyongan province—the city of Kusong and the counties of Kunjang and Unsan—were selected last year for regional factory projects. Construction began quickly, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for factories in Unsan county on March 7,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.
“The government distributed sample products at the ceremony and has claimed the factories are running smoothly, but locals don’t feel much has changed.”
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published several photographs alongside a story about the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new factories in Unsan county. The images show that factories producing food, clothing, and daily necessities are now operating in the county.
Notably, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported, “Attendees (at the ribbon cutting) shared how thrilled they were by the gratifying spectacle of products under the Unsan county brand rolling off the assembly line.”
In reality, however, the source said locals feel little has changed since the factories were built.
“They held a fancy ribbon-cutting ceremony, but nobody knows what’s happening to all those products rolling off the line,” one local said.
“We don’t need anything exotic or special. We just want a decent supply of soy sauce and doenjang (fermented soybean paste),” another local remarked, referring to some of the basic condiments in Korean cuisine.
“Contrary to people’s hopes, the products manufactured at the new factories are still being earmarked for priority customers including military units, ‘shock troops’ (construction teams), worker dormitories, and distribution centers. The only way locals can try these products for themselves is to buy them from employees who pocket some of the output,” the source said.
Additionally, staff at the newly built factories spend more time on side projects such as organizing events, maintaining hygiene, planting trees, and reinforcing ideology than on actual production work.
According to the source, this is how factories create the appearance of normal operations while actually minimizing production to make their raw materials last as long as possible.
“For the officials running these factories, showing that the factories are operational is more important than their actual output. As a result, officials maintain operations at an acceptable level with the raw materials they can acquire,” the source said.
“Workers are being mobilized for numerous social projects—including loyalty choir groups, national maintenance work, and tree planting—around the Day of the Shining Star (Feb. 16, birthday of Kim Jong Il) and Day of the Sun (April 15, birthday of Kim Il Sung). Later, large numbers of workers will likely be assigned to farm work to provide the factories with necessary raw supplies.”
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an article on March 24 about local delicacies being developed for the new factories. “Officials, technicians, and laborers at food factories in 20 cities and counties are making progress in developing and producing unique food products based on local ingredients, under the Party policy of ‘using mountains in mountainous areas and the sea by the seaside,’” the newspaper stated.
Despite the ongoing propaganda, the new regional factories have not made a noticeable difference in locals’ daily lives.
“Locals say it’s one thing to build new factories and another to source the raw materials needed to make doenjang, soy sauce, and cooking oil. To them, it seems like a tremendous amount of energy is being spent on building factories that, in the end, are just for show,” the source concluded.
April 04, 2025 at 07:00AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)