North Korea Cement Industry in Satellite Imagery

Abstract

s The possibility of economic exchange with North Korea is increasing, but there is still a shortage of information of cement industry, which occupies the largest proportion of North Korean construction material industry. Therefore, this study researched the status of cement production facility management using satellite photographs of 16 cement factories in North Korea, and examined the operating status of North Korean cement industry by observing smoke discharged from the chimneys of the cement production facilities. When the satellite photographs were analyzed, it was observed that the monthly stack fog ratio of the North Korean cement factories was 55% in 2016, 60% in 2017 and nearly 65% in 2018. This demonstrates that the average operating ratio has been increasing continuously. However, the operation rate of the five major cement factories reaches the limit, actual cement production is estimated to have maintained the previous level or small increased. keyword: North Korea, Cement, Kiln, Limestone, Satellite image