During a visit to a large-scale marine aquaculture construction site on the east coast, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his intention to build coastal aquaculture facilities in cities and counties across the country. This move appears to be aimed at addressing food shortages and generating foreign currency through the expansion of aquaculture operations.
On Monday, the party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported that Kim emphasized during his on-site guidance at the Ragwon County coastal aquaculture facility on Sunday that the construction of modern coastal aquaculture bases, directly planned and promoted by the party’s central leadership, is an innovative creative domain that will guarantee efficient development and promising progress for over 60 coastal cities and counties nationwide.
Kim described the construction plan for the coastal aquaculture facility as a significant construction project that will inject new momentum into local development policies. He stressed the necessity of rationally defining the project’s scale based on scientific research and analysis of the local population, economic foundation, and marine ecological environment, urging continuous progress on this front.
He also instructed that preparations for annual construction plans for coastal aquaculture facilities in each city and county should take precedence, outlining key directions for this initiative. While specific details were not disclosed, the newspaper reported that Kim presented various tasks and principles for launching a nationwide expansion of coastal aquaculture facilities.
Kim has emphasized the development of the fishing industry since the early days of his leadership. According to a study titled “A Study on North Korea’s Fisheries Policy Under Kim Jong Un Regime” published by the Korea Maritime Institute, Kim initiated the construction of new fishing vessels in 2013 and mobilized the military for fishing operations, already beginning preparations for processing and distribution.
In 2014, during his first on-site visit of the year, Kim inspected a newly constructed seafood freezing facility at the Korean People’s Army Unit 534. He directed that all fishing operations should be equipped with modern facilities necessary for catching, storing, and processing more fish.
Last December, he visited Sinpo, which had begun construction on a coastal aquaculture facility before Ragwon County, urging that Sinpo’s aquaculture site should serve as a model for other facilities. This suggests that the aquaculture site under construction in Ragwon County will likely be built to a similar scale as that in Sinpo.
Struggling with chronic food shortages, North Korea has aimed to secure large quantities of fish to alleviate its food crisis. Early in his administration, Kim stressed the urgent need for technology and facilities to freeze and store fish, indicating an intention to increase food reserves through expanded fishing operations.
North Korea has also utilized the fishing industry as a means of generating foreign currency. At one point, the country faced allegations of selling squid fishing rights in the East Sea to China.