577The Mineral Industry of 
North Korea 
By E. Chin1 
 
 
 North Korea's second 7-year plan, in which mining was to be a priority sector,
began in 1978. The targets for 1984, which called for doubling and even tripling
output in some sectors, were revised in many cases to below the levels originally
announced in 1974. While the major objectives in the mining industry remained
unchanged, output of coal in 1984 was scaled down from 100 million tons to
70-80 million tons. The annual production targets for steel, nonferrous metals,
and cement by 1984 were 8 million tons, 1 million tons, and 13 million tons,
respectively. 
 At the third session of the Sixth Supreme People's Assembly held in late
March 1979, the National Budget for 1978 was summarized and the National
Budget for 1979 was approved. The 1978 budget was described as being "successfully
settled with the enormous amount of 913.7 million won in reserve after spending
a large sum of money to insure the accomplishment of the task of economic
construction projected in the first year of the new prospective plan...elevating
further the people's living standard." Additionally, the 1979 budget
was
characterized as "accurately organized to actively mobilize national
revenue
sources in order to insure the successful accomplishments of the People's
economic plan of this year, intended for faster economic development..."2

Total revenue increased 13.5% to 15.7 billion won in 1978. Total revenue
in 1979 was expected to reach 17.3 billion won. In terms of U.S. currency,
one won is believed to be equivalent to about 105 cents. About 
70% of the reported revenue was from trading and earnings from national and
industrial enterprises, whilethe remainder was from local payments to the
Central Budget and growth of savings from reduced material cost. 
 Total expenditures increased 10.4% to 
14.7 billion won in 1978 and were planned to 
increase 17.3% in 1979. Expenditures in the 
mining industry increased 22% in 1978 over 
1977 and were expected to be 1.4 times the 
1978 outlay in 1979. Expenditures during 
1979 in the chemical industry sector was to 
be 1.3 times the 1978 level; in the construction industry, 1.1; and in the
machinery 
industry, 1.2. 
 Industrial growth in 1978 was reported as 117%, and investment for mining
as 122% more than 1974. Substantial growth in other economic sectors was
claimed for electric power, steel, construction, cement, and chemical fertilizers.
In 1979, the Budget called for increasing further the 1978 accomplishments
and reducing the cost of industrial production construction by 4.3% from
the 1978 level. The construction target for the industrial sector in 1978
was reported as 2,914 projects. However, of the 12 major industrial facilities
to be constructed in 1978, the only plant believed to be completed as planned
was the Ponghwa chemical plant. 
 To date, there has been no commercial discovery of oil or gas in North Korea.
To supplement indigenous coal mining and hydroelectric power generation,
the country uses oil imported from China and the 
U.S.S.R