North Korea has placed heavy industry and steel production at the center of its economic policies ever since the country was established. And one heavy industrial key to those plans has always been the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex in the city of Chongjin.
Originally built by the Japanese between 1938 and 1942 and rebuilt following the Korean War, the factory was long touted as one of the crown jewels of North Korea's "socialist construction". But following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, famine in the 1990s, and perennial fuel and electricity shortages, the steel complex has been in a multi-decade era of gradual decline.
Despite partial renovations and occasional additions to the complex, large portions of the factory have been abandoned or torn down, and now one of its largest production centers appears to be heading for the scrap pile as Kim Jong Un places more emphasis on military production and light- to- medium industry through the 20x10 Regional Development Plan.
Of note, even though Kim Jong Un has visited locations in and around Chongjin, he isn't known to have personally visited the iron and steel complex since coming to power - perhaps as a nod to its obsolescence.
At the time of its construction, the Kim Chaek Iron & Steel Complex (then known as the Chongjin Iron and Steel Company) was one of the largest steel plants in Asia and would become the largest such plant in North Korea with an annual capacity of 5.2 million tons of pig iron, rolled steel, and other steel products by the mid-1960s.
The plant is comprised of two primary sections and a dedicated port facility, covering a combined 766 hectares. The longest hall within the factory is 0.88 kilometers long and Kim Chaek has additional nearby facilities including a 2-km-long elevated conveyor system. In other words, the factory is big.
Over time, Kim Chaek has undergone substantial changes, which mirror North Korea's economic decline from the 1970s onward, with sporadic reprieves from state investment and new facilities.
But despite occasional reports of the factory's struggle to maintain operations, activity nonetheless continued in both the northern and southern sections throughout the 2010s, with bulk carriers regularly bringing raw materials and coal visible at the port.
However, while production has continued, production levels are unlikely to have ever recovered to pre-1990 levels, and the factory's age and disrepair are quite noticeable both through satellite imagery and through the thinly worded mentions of the complex in state media.
In light of problems maintaining and repairing equipment (much of which likely hasn't even been commercially manufactured in decades and may no longer be available), beginning in 2017 and lasting through 2024, large portions of the northern section of Kim Chaek began to be demolished.
By 2024, roughly half of the structures in the northern section of the complex had been demolished or were in a derelict state. At the same time, however, North Korea constructed a new oxygen separator in 2020, and an accompanying oxygen blast furnace was built where the older furnaces used to be. This new furnace was officially completed on December 20, 2023.
The new oxygen blast furnace occupies an area approximately two-thirds smaller than the original industrial facilities (area excludes changes made to rail and conveyor infrastructure).
Nearby surviving structures were also renovated during this time.
For the southern section, the situation may be drawing toward a similar outcome: demolition and reconstruction at a smaller scale.
The southern section of Kim Chaek contains its rolling and finishing facilities (which includes the aforementioned 0.88-km-long hall).
Split into two main complexes, the western buildings are the plant's rolling mills, and the eastern complex of buildings are where finishing processes have historically occurred.
Kim Chaek's rolling mills are the most active part of the southern section of the complex, with very little activity noticeable at the larger, finishing mill complex.
The mills had been served by eleven main rail spurs bringing raw steel from elsewhere at Kim Chaek and shipping off finished products.
After reviewing 67 high resolution images on Google Earth dating between February 14, 2012 and August 18, 2025, active rolling stock is only noted on the lines going to the rolling mill (west side complex), while no active rail traffic is noted on the east complex (finishing mills).
While the primary connections to the national Pyongra Line are still maintained, and the complex's main internal transport rail circuit is also used, numerous rail sidings and spur lines have been disconnected, and some have been completely dismantled throughout Kim Chaek. Among the disconnected lines are five of the six spurs leading to the finishing mills.
Other vehicle traffic is also practically non-existent for the finishing mills. Vehicles are only visible at the finishing mill complex on two dates. On October 23, 2016, one dump truck and three other objects (possibly cars) are visible and on October 25, 2016, five dump trucks and a flatbed cargo truck are visible
The roof of the finishing complex has also undergone sustained deterioration, with corrosion appearing on progressively larger portions of the roof.
An additional line of visual evidence that this part of the complex is either defunct or only operating at a low level is winter imagery.
Imagery from Google Earth dated March 13, 2020 shows snow covering most of the roof of the finishing mill building, while internal heat has melted the snow off large parts of the rolling mill building roof.
Thermal imagery from 2014 and 2015 was reported on by 38 North that showed elevated heat signatures across the complex, including at the finishing mill. But additional winter imagery from Planet Labs spanning 2020-2025 shows sustained snow cover on the finishing mill and little or no snow on the rolling mill.
In conjunction with the lack of vehicle traffic and the dismantling of rail lines, this snow cover suggests that by 2020 (at least) activity at the finishing mill had indeed fallen substantially.
Despite superficial one-sentence mentions in state media praising how the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex "further perfect[ed] the Korean-style iron- and steel-making methods", it's very clear that the complex has declined considerably, and that the last remaining Korean War reconstruction-era production halls are in dire need of total renovation or may soon face demolition.
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