After the Kaesong Industrial Complex was shuttered in 2016, reports emerged that North Korea was using its facilities without permission from the South Korean government. When North Korea adopted its new regional industrial development plan during a Supreme People’s Assembly meeting in January, the authorities approved the transfer of some of the Kaesong complex’s facilities to Changang Province, the two Hwanghae provinces, and other provincial regions. High-resolution Maxar satellite images I recently reviewed indicate changes in structures on the outskirts of the Kaesong complex. As concerns mount over North Korea’s illegal activities at the complex, including moving equipment to other regions, I examined changes in structures on the outskirts of the complex for clues on what is happening on the ground.
Changes in structures on the outskirts of the Kaesong Industrial Complex
An image from Maxar’s Worldview-2 satellite (resolution: 50 centimeters) indicates changes in the outskirts of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the lower left of the photo (marked in yellow). The changes have taken place outside of the complex. Still, given that the facilities in this area were built at the same time as the industrial park, they are likely auxiliary facilities for the broader complex. The high-res Maxar image shows a series of changes, including the demolishing of existing buildings and the raising of new ones since last year. Dozens of buildings were demolished, and new ones were erected in the vast open space between the textile, needlework and clothing production complex and the apartment-type factories (a term used to describe piled up, small-scale manufacturing factories or offices).
Zooming in on the outskirts of the Kaesong Industrial Complex
I examined the changes by comparing a Maxar satellite image (right) with a Google Earth image (left) taken in April last year. About 20 or 30 large and small buildings were demolished, and five or six new ones were built. In particular, unknown rectangular panels fill the empty ground between the textile, sewing and clothing production facilities and the apartment-type factories. We will likely learn what the new facilities are later in the construction process. The long, rectangular forms seem like vegetable greenhouses, which one can often see in satellite images of North Korea, but I do not believe this is a greenhouse complex. Judging from the photos, they appear similar to solar panels.
Meanwhile, North Korea is rushing to complete the construction of factories in 20 provincial cities and counties nationwide every year over 10 years to improve obsolete regional industries per a decision by the Supreme People’s Assembly on Jan. 15, with the authorities recently issuing directives and specific orders to each region. Radio Free Asia reported on Feb. 20 that the North Korean authorities had approved the transfer of some equipment for the production of tires, rice cookers and shoes from the Kaesong Industrial Complex to Chaeryong County in South Hwanghae Province, Yontan County in North Hwanghae Province, and Usi County in Chagang Province.
In fact, suspicions are mounting that North Korea is taking away structures and equipment left behind by South Korea in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and moving them to newly built factories in the provinces per its “20×10 regional development policy.” We must not discount the possibility that the changes I observed on the outskirts of the Kaesong complex concern the unsanctioned transfer of factory equipment. Surveillance assets such as satellites must be brought to bear to carefully monitor North Korean operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the illegal transfer of the complex’s equipment.
Meanwhile, the Maxar images also showed that an armory about 80 meters from the lower right of the complex remains intact. On Jan. 31, I claimed through an international media outlet that seven armory buildings in the lower part of the complex were demolished. That was a mistake. The satellite images I viewed at the time were of poor resolution, so I misjudged the blurry sections to be demolished. I acknowledge and now reflect upon the error. I shall meditate on the lesson learned that one must defer immediate judgment when things are unclear.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Views expressed in this guest column do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK. Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
April 30, 2024 at 05:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)