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PYONGYANG, North Korea – More than 20 years after his father nearly traded them for two nuclear reactors, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has his nuclear weapons – and a nation still struggling with chronic power outages.
Even on the clearest days, plumes of smoke from two large fireplaces persist over the center of Pyongyang. The central chimneys of the Pyongyang combined heat and power plant of the Soviet era are one of the most recognizable monuments of the North Korean capital.
Perhaps more than anything else, it is the Achilles heel of Kim Jong Un, who is now focusing on the development of the country's nuclear arsenal for the benefit of the construction of its economy.
If the nuclear talks stalled with Washington never get back on track, helping Kim solve his country's chronic energy deficit could be one of the biggest carrots that President Trump can offer. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo tried this in the 1990s and were even willing to pay to build these two reactors that Kim's father wanted.
Years of intensive sanctions have severely affected the North Korea's supply of fossil fuels from the outside world, but they have also prompted the country to concoct a concentration of energy resources, some off the grid, from all over the world. others illegally.
Here's an overview of Kim's position and what he's doing to win his country's real struggle for power.
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THE GREAT IMAGE
Among the most iconic images of North Korea are nocturnal satellite photos that reveal it in the form of an abyss of ink surrounded by lights of China, South Korea and Japan.
The entire nation of 25 million people consumes each year about the same amount of electricity as Washington. It uses as much crude oil a year as the United States consumes in just 12 hours. South Korea has about twice the population of the North, but its electricity consumption in 2014 was about 40 times greater.
Hydropower, which is subject to seasonal fluctuations, provides about half of the fuel supplied to the national energy grid. Coal represents the other half.
The network is leaking, it is archaic and needs repairs.
This smoke-producing power station in the capital, which supplies much of the electricity and hot water needs of central Pyongyang, dates back to the 1960s. The lights in the huge concrete buildings of Tongil Boulevard in front of the city remained lit, largely thanks to the East Pyongyang Thermal Power Plant – built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
What is electricity distributed unevenly.
The showcase capital and cities close to coal or hydroelectric power plants have the best coverage. Military installations also take precedence and often have their own supplies. The same goes for the important party and government activities, some of the capital's most prominent residences and hotels, and even some restaurants. The lights used to light the portraits of the leaders at night never go out.
Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for the power supply to flash, even in many high status locations. Dancing beams of flashlights are commonplace in dark streets or apartments. In rural villages, even that often disappears in the dark.
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KEEP OIL WHICH SHE SHOULD …
North Korea has to import between 3 and 4 million barrels of crude oil each year to support its economy.
Most of it goes through a pipeline.
The China-North Korea "Friendship Oil Pipeline" links the border town of Dandong under the Yalu River to a storage facility on the North Korean side about 13 kilometers from Sinuiju City. From there, some are transported by truck or train across the country to the east coast, where they are stored at Munchon Harbor. A larger amount is routed to Pyongyang for priority recipients such as the military, ministries and state enterprises, as well as for the port of Nampo, southwest of Pyongyang.
The pipeline – technically there are two, one for crude and the other for refined products – was built between 1974 and 1976.
North Korea had two refineries. The oil pipeline from China ends at the Ponghwa chemical plant, which produces gasoline and diesel. The other refinery was built by the Soviet Union in the north, near the Rason Special Economic Zone, in the 1970s. It closed in 1995 with the collapse of the Soviet empire. The pipeline linking it to Siberia had long been out of use.
Under sanctions imposed by the United States at the end of last year, North Korea can import a maximum of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products as well as 4 million barrels of crude oil per year.
In addition to its connections with China, the North has been supplied by Russian tankers that ship oil and petroleum products to Munchon and another port on the east coast, Hungnam. She has found willing suppliers in the Middle East or the open market.
Since the imposition of the import cap, Pyongyang has been involved in increasingly sophisticated programs to increase supplies with hard-to-follow oil transfers from tankers at sea.
Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told the Security Council in September that the United States had at least 148 cases of oil tankers delivering refined petroleum products obtained through illegal ship-to-ship shipments. during the first eight months of this year. She said the amount of oil illegally transferred – about 800,000 barrels – was 160% of the annual 500,000 barrel cap.
"In fact, we think they've got four times the annual quota in the first eight months of this year," Haley said.
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… AND EXIT FROM THE GRID
David von Hippel and Peter Hayes of the Nautilus Institute have been following the energy issue of North Korea for years.
Comparing China's trade figures between 2000 and 2017, they found explosive growth in imports of North Korean passenger cars and trucks, which placed an additional 107,000 vehicles on its roads. Sales of tractors also increased and sales of "electric-powered" bicycles or scooters, a category that was not even listed before last year, doubled to 128,000.
Sales of trucks and tractors almost certainly reflect a modernization of the northern transportation and agriculture sectors. Being able to move is a key to doing business in a market-driven economy, as well as having enough spending power to buy things like electric scooters.
In addition, in a study published this month, Hayes and von Hippel also found that imports of diesel and gasoline-based generators, combined with already ubiquitous solar panels in the North, create a system more and more independent of the national electricity grid. .
"The data (…) reinforce the image of a DPRK in which a more dynamic market economy, being modernized, increasingly (at least functionally) offers households, to businesses and institutions ways to invest in both electricity supply increase transport services, "they wrote using the acronym of the official name of the North.
Staying energized often can be a complicated routine.
Solar panels, the cheapest option, keep a room lit, a mobile phone in working order and possibly a TV or other device. When the grid electricity actually flows, it can be used to charge the batteries before the next power outage.
Those who have a little more influence or money use generators running on diesel or gas that can supply everything from the restaurant to the building.
Or a military installation.
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Talmadge is the head of the PA office in Pyongyang. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @EricTalmadge
