As the ongoing heat wave worsens North Korea’s power shortage, authorities have reportedly moved to prioritize electricity for munitions factories while sharply cutting power supplies to ordinary areas.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK on Friday about a new directive, which was issued by the Cabinet’s Ministry of Electric Power Industry on July 28 to regional transmission and distribution offices nationwide. The directive came as water levels at hydroelectric reservoirs plunged amid the continuing heat wave. Its core message: limit power transmission to ordinary areas and give priority to munitions factories.
North Korea already faces chronic power shortages. The recent heat wave has pushed the national power supply into an even deeper crisis. The move to cut electricity to ordinary areas appears to be a drastic step, aimed at funneling the limited power supply to core munitions factories.
The source explained, “Electricity demand has increased in the summer heat as more people use fans and other cooling devices. But hydroelectric plants account for a large share of power production. They don’t have enough water reserves, so their capacity to supply power has dropped sharply.”
North Korea relies on hydroelectric power for a significant share of its electricity production, but prolonged heat waves reduce the inflow of water into reservoirs while increasing evaporation, causing water levels to drop sharply. Extreme summer heat ultimately lowers hydroelectric output, worsening an already severe power shortage.
As a result, the Ministry of Electric Power Industry has limited electricity to residential areas and small factories and redirected that power to munitions factories, aiming to keep facilities that produce key military supplies running around the clock.
Fans off, lights dim as crackdown widens
Regional transmission and distribution offices are reportedly carrying out the directive by limiting electricity to civilian and small-scale industrial facilities. In some areas, including Kaechon and Sunchon, authorities are also stepping up inspections to crack down on unauthorized electricity use.
The abrupt power restrictions have reportedly worsened production disruptions at small factories. North Korean people are also struggling in the heat without fans or other cooling devices, with complaints growing among factory workers and ordinary people alike.
The source said, “These days, forget about fans. It’s hard even to turn on a light at night,” adding: “With the heat wave continuing and now the power cut too, elderly people and children, who are especially vulnerable to heat illness, are struggling. We’re seeing cases of people collapsing from exhaustion or their health worsening.”
He added, with evident bitterness, “The heat is brutal, and losing power on top of it makes things even more painful.” A summer night without electricity, he said, is “literally pitch dark, one unbearable ordeal after another.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
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August 10, 2026 at 07:52AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)