Chinese Government provides RMB 112 million grant for Namhung Youth Chemical Complex Upgrading Project

In 2014, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) provided a grant worth RMB 112 million to the North Korean Government for the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex Upgrading Project. The purpose of the project was to decarbonize the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex in Namhŭng-dong, Anju-si, South P'yŏngan province. The facility is a major producer of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and polyethylene sheeting—all critical to the agricultural sector—as well as a range of synthetic textiles and chemical products important to the nation’s industrial sectors. In addition to its role in the civilian economy, since the early 1990s, officials from South Korea and Japan as well as North Korean defectors have identified the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex as being involved in the production of chemical warfare agents (e.g. cyanogen chloride and mustard gas). The facility is served by the Korean State Railway via Namhŭng station on the Namhŭng Line. It also has its own fleet of shunting locomotives, along with facilities for the maintenance of rail equipment. Hebei Construction Group International Engineering Co., Ltd. (or “HBCG International"), a subsidiary of Hebei Construction Group (a state-owned company), is the contractor responsible for implementation. MOFCOM awarded it a construction contract in September 2014. The implementation status of this project is unknown.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Namhŭng Youth Chemical Complex Upgrading Project. The Korean project title is 남흥청년화학련합기업소. The Chinese project title is 援朝鲜南兴青年化学联合企业所化肥脱碳技术改造项目 or 化学联合企业所化肥脱碳技术改造项目. The Namhung Youth Chemical Complex is sometimes identified as the Namhung Youth Chemical Combine, Anju Namhung Chemical Plant or Anju Textile Chemical Factory. 2. The Namhung Youth Chemical Complex was originally built in 1976 with French, Japanese and West German equipment, initially producing ammonia by naphtha gasification, acrylic and polycarbonate fibers, and urea fertilizer, using naphtha brought in from the Sŭngri and Ponghwa chemical factories.

Number of official sources

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