Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex steel plant — North Korea

Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex steel plant is a steel plant in North Korea. Its listed capacity is 6,000,000 t of steel. Steel plants burn coal in blast furnaces or use electric arcs to melt scrap; in both cases the molten metal must be kept above 1,500°C and transferred through extensive hot piping and vessels. It is operated by Government of North Korea. By capacity it ranks #1 among 2 steel plants in North Korea. It emits about 8,508,209 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 56% of the CO₂e from the 9 facilities in North Korea that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 53% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-32440878.

In context: how this facility compares

At 6,000,000 t of steel, Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex steel plant is around the median steel plant in North Korea (6,000,000 t of steel). Subsector: iron-and-steel. As steel plant, it requires high process heat (typically 800–1500°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Steel plants burn coal in blast furnaces or use electric arcs to melt scrap; in both cases the molten metal must be kept above 1,500°C and transferred through extensive hot piping and vessels.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 8,508,209 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest steel plants in North Korea

Listed capacity (t of steel), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Government of North Korea. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex steel plant sits in a monsoon warm-summer continental climate zone (Köppen Dwb), at 41.8°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1424 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.09× the loss at a 20 °C reference. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #1 largest of 2 steel plants in North Korea by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Ch'ŏngjin Ironworks steel plant · Steel Plant · 2,403,184 t CO₂
• Korea Building Materials Gomusan Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 785,982 t CO₂
• Jilin Chenming Paper Co Ltd - Shandong Chenming Paper Group · Pulp & Paper Mill

Location

Coordinates 41.75076, 129.74982. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions