Ch'ŏngjin Ironworks steel plant

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Ch'ŏngjin Ironworks steel plant (淸津製鋼所, 청진제강소), also known as Seishan Iron and Steel Works (predecessor), Chongjin Works, Japan Iron Manufacturing Company - Seishan/Chongjin works (predecessor), Kinsaku Steel Works, is a steel plant in Chongjin, North Hamgyong, North Korea that operates electric arc furnace (EAF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), blast furnace (BF), and direct reduced iron (DRI) technology.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Chongjin, North Hamgyong, North Korea:

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• Location: Chongjin, North Kamkyo, North Hamgyeong Province, North Korea
• Coordinates (WGS 84): 41.777936, 129.792399 (exact)

Background

History

In 1942, Japan Iron and Manufacturing Company began a plant in Chongjin with 2 500-tonne blast furnaces (BF) (total capacity of 1000 TPD), 2 batteries of 57 coke ovens (total capacity of 1240 TPD), and 2 7-tonne electric arc furnaces (EAF). There was also a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant on site, founded by Mitsubishi Mining Company in 1939. During the Seven-year Plan (1961-70), the existing two large blast furnaces were enlarged and three medium-size blast furnaces were installed subsequent to 1965.

Steel for weapons development

In March 2020, Daily NK reported that North Korea is aiming to increase its production of steel for weapons development, with the goal of selling these weapons abroad for foreign currency.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Start date	Power source	Iron ore source	Coal source
1942	unknown	Musan mine	unknown

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

State-owned entity status	Parent company	Parent company PermID	Parent GEM entity ID	Owner	Owner company PermID	Owner GEM entity ID
Full	Government of North Korea [100.0%]	5001424116 [100.0%]	E100001000599 [100.0%]	Government of North Korea [100%]	5001424116	E100001000599 [100%]

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category	Steel products	Steel sector end users	ISO 14001	ISO 50001	Responsible steel	Main production equipment
semi-finished, finished rolled	slab, plate	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	BF; DRI; EAF; BOF

Table 4: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity	Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity	Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
operating	1500	500	2000

Table 5: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Blast furnace capacity	Sponge iron/DRI capacity	Nominal iron capacity (total)
operating	1699	0	1699

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Ferronickel	Sinter	Coke	Pellets
NF	NF	>0	NF

Table 7: Actual Plant-level Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	BOF production	EAF production
2019	unknown	unknown
2020	unknown	unknown
2021	unknown	unknown
2022	unknown	unknown
2023	unknown	unknown
2024	unknown	unknown
2025	unknown	unknown

Table 8: Actual Plant-level Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	DRI production
2019	unknown
2020	unknown
2021	unknown
2022	unknown
2023	unknown
2024	unknown
2025	unknown

Unit Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Start date	Current capacity (ttpa)	Most recent relining
unknown BF (1)	operating	1942	365	1960
unknown BF (2)	operating	1942	365	1960
unknown BF (3)	operating	1970	323	–
unknown BF (4)	operating	1970	323	–
unknown BF (5)	operating	1970	323	–

Table 10: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Start date	Furnace manufacturer and model	Furnace type	Current capacity (ttpa)
unknown DRI (1)	operating	1939	Krupp-Renn rotary furnace	rotary kiln	0

Table 11: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Reductant Details

Unit name	Current or initial reductant
unknown DRI (1)	coal (solid)

Table 12: Electric Arc Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Current capacity (ttpa)
unknown EAF (1)	operating	500

Table 13: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details

Unit name	Scrap-based	% scrap	% DRI	% sponge iron (unknown if DRI or HBI)	% basic/merchant pig iron	% granulated pig iron	% other iron
unknown EAF (1)	None	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown

Table 14: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Start date	Furnace manufacturer and model	Current capacity (ttpa)	Current size
unknown BOF (1)	operating	–	Bessemer	500	60.0 tonnes
unknown BOF (2)	operating	1970	Bessemer	500	60.0 tonnes
unknown BOF (3)	operating	1970	Bessemer	500	60.0 tonnes

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

Resources

• https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%A3%BD%E9%90%B5%E6%B8%85%E6%B4%A5%E8%A3%BD%E9%89%84%E6%89%80 Wikipedia