Iliana Ragnone

1 week ago | 38north.org | Martyn Williams |Iliana Ragnone

The regional industry push under the banner of the 20×10 regional development plan seeks to foster sustainable manufacturing by building new light industrial hubs in 20 cities and counties every year for ten years. The plan began in 2024 and that year, installed factories for food, clothing and daily goods in 20 communities across the country. While the project is nationally driven from Pyongyang, it appears the state has not gone for a one-size-fits-all approach.

1 month ago | 38north.org | Peter Makowsky |Jack J. Liu |Iliana Ragnone |Martyn Williams

Commercial satellite imagery of Nampho Port indicates North Korea’s newest warship has likely left the construction hall and is positioned inside a floating drydock berthed at the newly refurbished quay. It has been less than a year since the first observable signs of construction were seen at Nampho, the west coast command headquarters for North Korea’s navy and the country’s largest commercial port.

1 month ago | 38north.org | Martyn Williams |Iliana Ragnone

Less than a month after North Korean state media conveyed Kim Jong Un’s ambitious 20×10 regional development plan, residents of Yonthan, North Hwanghae province—one of the first construction sites—were visited by then-Premier Kim Tok Hun to survey initial progress. Despite the importance of the plan, the premier’s visit received relatively muted coverage in state media—it was featured on the bottom of the front page Rodong Sinmun and ignored by state television.

1 month ago | 38north.org | Peter Makowsky |Jack J. Liu |Iliana Ragnone |Martyn Williams

As springtime brings warmer weather and softer ground, work to expand the road and rail infrastructure throughout North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station continues. Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates that efforts to cut a new road, or possible rail bed, connecting the east tunnel entrance with the coastal launch pad and southern seaport are underway, which could allow for vehicles or launch materials to easily travel to and from the various parts of the complex.

2 months ago | 38north.org | Martyn Williams |Iliana Ragnone

The first signs of work on the fifth and final stage of a project to build 50,000 new apartments in Pyongyang are now apparent. Commercial satellite imagery from March 13 shows that since a groundbreaking ceremony on February 16, building foundations have been excavated at the southern end of the Hwasong District as workers race to meet the year-end deadline. The footers for around 20 buildings are observed in the Hwawon 2-dong neighborhood in the Hwasong District.