Location: Ch'ŏlsan-kun (鐵山郡), North P'yŏng'an Province (平安北道), North Korea
Subordinate to: Ministry of Extractive Industries (採取工業省), Cabinet (內閣)
Primary Function: Mining and milling; mining and processing of monazite and uranium
Description: During the late 1940s and the 1950s, the Soviet Union mined monazite for its uranium at the Ch'ŏlsan mine. In 1947, the Soviets were reported to be surveying North Korea's monazite mines, with the help of a "Dr. Chao Yang." In fact, nuclear related activity in North Korea may have begun at this and other mines. The structure, capacity, and current status of this facility are unknown. [Note: Dr. Chao Yang's nationality is not clear.]
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Updated April 2003 |
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Key Sources:
Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., "N Korea--Set To Join the 'Nuclear Club'?" Jane's Defence Weekly, Vol. 12, No. 12, 23 September 1989, p. 594; Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., "Exposing North Korea's Nuclear Infrastructure-Part One," Jane's Intelligence Review, 1 February 1999, p. 38.
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