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North's Kim attends inauguration of hydropower plant in Kangwon Province

Published: 21 Nov. 2025, 09:59

This image from the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 21, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech at a ceremony to launch the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station in Kangwon Province the previous day. [YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a ceremony to inaugurate a hydropower plant in Kangwon Province, the sixth to be built in the region amid the country's chronic electricity shortage, according to state media Friday.

The ceremony to launch the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station in the southeastern province was held the previous day, with Kim in attendance, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

In his speech at the event, Kim lauded the construction as opening up "the clear prospect of solving the electricity problem most essential for developing the economy of their region and improving their material and cultural life."

"What is really remarkable is that Kangwon Province, which has a smaller population and weaker industrial foundations than other provinces, has built by its own efforts these power stations," Kim noted.

The KCNA said the Hoeyang power plant is the last of six hydropower stations to be completed in Kangwon, including those in Ichon, Munchon, Sepho, Phyonggang and Kosong.

This image from the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 21, shows the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station in Kangwon Province, with a launch ceremony having been held the previous day. [YONHAP]

Appearing in a black leather jacket, Kim joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the power plant, and toured its operating and generating rooms, encouraging those who contributed to its construction.

Kim's visit to the inauguration of a power plant, a day after attending a ceremony to launch a modern hospital near Pyongyang, appears intended to underscore his signature regional development policy ahead of a high-profile ruling party congress set for early next year.

Released photos of the power plant show its outer wall inscribed with messages such as "a gift presented to the ninth party congress" and "self-reliance."

This image from the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 21, shows a ceremony to launch the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station in Kangwon Province the previous day. [YONHAP]

North Korea is known to suffer chronic electricity shortages, especially in regions outside of the capital.

As of 2021, North Korea's power generation capacity had stood at 8.22 million kilowatts, representing only 6.1 percent of the corresponding figure for South Korea, according to data from the Unification Ministry, with actual power generation reaching only 4.4 percent of the South's level.

Yonhap