It is known that North Korea, suffering from chronic power shortages, has proposed to invest in solar power plant construction as a condition of a long-term lease of a farm in the West Sea to China. The Chinese side is not willing to respond, local sources said.
Reporter Son Hye-min reports inside North Korea.
An official in Pyongyang City told Free Asia Broadcasting on the 4th, “Early this month, we proposed to China to invest in the construction of a solar power plant instead of leasing a farm in the West
The source said, “If a Chinese investor invests $2.5 billion in the construction of a solar power plant on the west coast, the repayment method will be to lease a farm in the west sea for about 10 years, and a more specific repayment method will be discussed after the bilateral transaction is concluded. ” he added.
If the border closed due to the coronavirus is opened and trade between North Korea and China is fully resumed, it is said that North Korea will hand over to China a farm in the West Sea that can grow shellfish and fish such as clams and eels for 10 years.
It is known that the second economic committee of North Korea proposed to China invest in the construction of solar power plants. The investment proposal documents were faxed from Pyongyang to a Chinese counterpart connected to a Chinese investor (individual).
According to the documents proposed to China, it is revealed that if China invests $2.5 billion in the construction of a solar power plant capable of generating 2.5 million kilowatts of electricity per day on the west coast of North Korea, it will rent out 5,000 pieces of farms in the West Sea of North Korea.
In North Korea, the 2nd Economic Committee is an organization that oversees the munitions economy, including the planning and production of munitions, and was changed to the National Defense Commission (currently the State Affairs Commission) under the Cabinet in 1993.
A source said, “ The West Sea fish farm planned to be leased to China is known from Seoncheon-gun, North Pyongan Province, Jeungsan-gun, South Pyongan Province, following Gwaksan and Yeomju-gun.
On the same day, an official from North Pyongan Province said, “These days, the central government is working hard on attracting foreign investment, whether it be money or rice, to suggest various ways to overcome the economic difficulties.”
Accordingly, each trading organization under the cabinet is promoting smuggling from Russia and food imports from China.
The source said, “The biggest project among them is to hand over the West Sea fish farm to China and attract investment to build a solar power plant.”
It is said that the North Korean authorities gave the West Sea fish farms to their Chinese counterparts and allowed them to attract investment, whether it be the Economic Committee or the Cabinet economy, which is the first institution to attract foreign investment.
It is known that North Korea’s plan to build a solar power plant on the west coast has been discussed before the coronavirus. In other words, he proposed to transfer the rare earth mine development rights to China and attract Chinese investment.
In this regard, RFA Free Asia Broadcasting reported that in October 2019, the Pyongyang Trade Organization transferred the rights to develop rare earth mines in Cheolsan-gun, North Pyongan Province to China and proposed to China invest in the construction of solar power plants in the inland of the west coast.
However, even if China acquires North Korea’s rights to develop and mine rare earth in return for its investment in solar power plant construction funds in North Korea, bringing North Korean rare earth to China is a violation of sanctions against North Korea. Therefore, it is known that Chinese investors are concerned about the failure of investment in North Korea’s rare earth trade, and thus, it is known that the investment attraction surrounding the rare earth trade between North Korea and China has not been made yet.
The source said, “The attraction of solar power plant construction investment through rare earth trade was not made due to North Korea sanctions, so we are trying to attract Chinese investment by handing over the West Sea farm, which is not subject to North Korea sanctions, to China.”
Meanwhile, according to the National Statistical Office of the Republic of Korea, in 2018, North Korea’s power generation capacity was known to be 24.9 billion kW, which is one-23rd of that of South Korea. The Korea Energy Research Institute also revealed that North Korea’s per capita power generation in 2019 was 940 kwh, which is only 8.6% of South Korea’s and 40.2% of the average of non-OECD countries, which is very poor. The problems are the aging of hydro and thermal power generation facilities, which are energy resources, and inefficient transmission and distribution systems.
The alternative is ‘natural energy development’. North Korea enacted the ‘Renewable Energy Act’ for the development and use of renewable energy such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy in August 2013, stating that “the natural energy development project is a vast project that requires money, materials, effort and time .” In 2018, we announced the ‘mid- and long-term development plan for natural energy.
Since then, North Korea has continued to import key parts such as solar cells from China, and installed solar power in commercial facilities, transportation means, and institutional enterprises to encourage its electricity production. However, the corona blockade and sanctions against North Korea have prevented the import of parts necessary for the expansion of solar power plants, and the development of solar power plant technology is also experiencing difficulties, the sources said.
Post time: Sep-09-2022