North Korea: TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS



Overview: Rail, road, air, and water transportation all are used in North Korea. Railroads are the most important mode of transportation, linking all major cities and accounting for about 86 percent of cargo and about 80 percent of passenger transportation. Roads, on the other hand, support only 12 percent of the cargo transporting capacity, and rivers and the sea, only 2 percent. Transportation by air other than for military purposes within North Korea is negligible.



Roads: North Korea’s highway network was estimated at 31,200 kilometers in 1999. Of this total, only 1,997 kilometers were paved, and some 682 kilometers were multilane highways. A major expressway links W4nsan on the east coast with P’y4ngyang inland and Namp’o on the west coast. However, 29,203 kilometers (93.6 percent of the total) of North Korea’s roads are unpaved and covered with gravel or crushed stone, or have dirt surfaces and are considered poorly maintained.



Railroads: Railroads are operated by the Korean State Railway, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Railways. The total railroad network in 2002 was approximately 5,214 kilometers, although officially P’y4ngyang claimed 8,500 kilometers as a result of infrastructure modernization efforts that started in 1992. The 1.435-meter standard gauge roadbeds are located primarily along the east and west coasts. Some 3,500 kilometers are electrified, and more routes are being electrified and built. The government claims that 90 percent of its routes are electrified, and it is believed that the inventory includes about 300 electric and numerous diesel locomotives. About 35 million passenger journeys occur each year. About 70 percent of North Korea’s freight is carried by rail annually, about 38.5 million tons. A subway system opened in P’y4ngyang in 1973 with one line, and another was added in 1978. The system includes an estimated 22.5 kilometers and 17 stations.



Ports: The major port facilities—all ice free—are at Namp’o and Haeju on the west coast and Najin (Rajin), Ch’4ngjin, Hßngnam, and W4nsan on the east coast. United Nations statistics for 2002 report that North Korea had ships totaling 870,000 gross registered tons. The merchant fleet itself is composed of 203 ships of 1,000 gross registered tons or more. These ships include, by type, the following: bulk carrier (6), cargo (166), combination bulk (2), container (3), liquefied gas (1), livestock carrier (3), multifunctional large load carrier (1), passenger/cargo (1), petroleum tanker (11), refrigerated cargo (6), roll on/roll off (2), and short-sea/passenger (1).



Inland and Coastal Waterways: Inland waterways in North Korea total about 2,253 kilometers, and most can be used only by small boats. The Amnokgang (Yalu), Tumangang (Tumen), and Taedonggang are the most important navigable rivers in North Korea.



Civil Aviation and Airports: In 2003 North Korea had an estimated 78 usable airports, 35 of which had permanent-surface runways and 43, unpaved runways. North Korea’s Sunan International Airport is located 20 kilometers north of P’y4ngyang. It offers about 20 flights per week on North Korean, Chinese, and Russian carriers. Other airports are located at Ch’4ngjin, Hamhßng, Najin, and W4nsan. There also are 19 heliports. The state-run airline, which uses a fleet of 15 Soviet-made planes, is Air Koryo. It provides domestic service to three airports and foreign service to eight cities in China, Thailand, Germany, and Russia. North Korean aircraft are seldom used for transporting cargo. In 2001, according to United Nations (UN) statistics, only 5 tons per kilometer were carried, as compared to South Korea’s 11,503 tons per kilometer.



Pipelines: There were 136 kilometers of oil pipelines in North Korea in 2003.

Telecommunications: Domestic and international communications are controlled by the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP). Most national broadcasting is via the Korean Central Broadcasting Station in P’y4ngyang. Radio service was received from approximately 16 AM, 14 FM, and 11 shortwave government-controlled stations in 1999. Nearly all households have access to broadcasts from radios or public loudspeakers. According to 2001 data, North Korea had 4.7 million radio sets. International medium-wave (AM) and shortwave broadcasting is by Voice of Korea in P’y4ngyang, with daily propaganda broadcasts in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. North Korea has three television services, all from P’y4ngyang: the Radio and Television Committee of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Korean Educational and Cultural Television with Wednesday and Sunday broadcasting, and Mansudae Television with Sunday broadcasting. There were 38 television broadcast stations and some 2 million television sets in 1999. In 2001 North Korea may have had as many as 1.1 million telephones in use, although lower numbers also are cited; the number of cellular phones, which first came into use in 2002, is not known. However, it has been reported that North Koreans living in border towns near China are using prepaid Chinese cellular phones, routed via relay stations constructed in 2004 along the Chinese side of the border, to call relatives and reporters in South Korea. International telecommunications are via an Intelsat satellite and a Russian satellite, both over the Indian Ocean. Fiber-optic lines have been reported between some cities. Other international connections are through Beijing and Moscow. North Korea launched its first e-mail service in 2001, but Internet access is severely restricted.