{"id":2891,"date":"2016-12-29T14:24:13","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T05:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2016\/12\/report\/2161118-track\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T18:20:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T09:20:48","slug":"2161118-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2016\/12\/news\/2161118-track\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Worsened power supply paralyzed the train system, reportedly causing deaths in a stopped train"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A train stopped on the tracks. There are almost no windows. August 2002, a suburb of Hyesan City, Ryanggang Province. Taken by ISHIMARU Jiro from Chinese side(ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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2016\/Nov\/18<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

According to ASIAPRESS partners in North Korea, the power supply got deteriorated in some parts of North Korea, paralyzing the train system since the mid-October.\u00a0 (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

One of the reporting partners from Hyesan reported on 17th November that \u201cAt best I can use electricity for two to three hours a day at home in Hyesan City.\u00a0 As electricity is exclusively sent to the State Security Department, the Party, and privileged corporations, ordinary people are left behind.\u00a0 Only affluent households can afford to buy solar panels made in China for turning on light.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cCurrently, the train system has been completely dysfunctional.\u00a0 It takes 10 days from Hyesan to Pyongyang by train now. It normally used to take only 24 hours before. Nowadays, most people do not use the train.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reporting partner went to South Pyongan Province to conduct researches by buses and trucks called \u201cservi car.\u201d\u00a0 Likewise, our partners in North Hamkyung Province also described the train system as broken.
\nRelated Article: \uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e State-owned transportation in a miserable state. by ISHIMARU Jiro<\/a><\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n

A reporting partner from Musan County, North Hamkyung Province said, \u201cI haven\u2019t seen trains running since the mid-October due to the power shortage.\u00a0 It takes more than ten days to go to Pyongyang from Musan, so people rarely ride on a train. Rumor says that a death occurred in a stopped train.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the partners agreed that the power shortage had paralyzed the train system.<\/p>\n

The partner from Hyesan said that \u201cElectricity is either down or too weak to use\u201d.<\/p>\n

In addition to the existing trains running on electricity, diesel locomotives were introduced in some parts of the train lines in the early 2015.\u00a0 However, it seems that the operation of these trains remain sluggish, presumably due to the expense problem or the lack of engines.<\/p>\n

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A train stopped on the tracks. There are almost no windows. August 2002, a suburb of Hyesan City, Ryanggang Province. Taken by ISHIMARU Jiro from Chinese side(ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

Next page\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The train stopped due to a black out. There are portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at the back. June 2005. Taken by Lee Joon(ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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The majority of electricity in North Korea is generated by Hydroelectric power.\u00a0 Droughts in autumn and frozen rivers in winter cause the lack of water to generate the electricity.\u00a0 It is not clear whether the power shortage since October this year is due to the inefficient hydro generation or different causes.
\nRelated Article: Truck falls into reservoir due to heavy snow, leaving 19 dead in the northern part of Ryanggang Province<\/a><\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n

In the past, it was normal that the North Korea railway system goes down.\u00a0 However, the situation had been improved since around 2013 after Kim Jong-un took over the regime.\u00a0 At worst, trains were delayed only a few days, and death in a stopped train was unheard-of for a long time.\u00a0 Therefore, the worsened power supply in this autumn, crippling the railway system, was unexpected.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the international railway connecting Pyongyang and China has been running every day according to a reporting partner in Dandong, China.<\/p>\n

\u3010Related Article\u3011<\/strong>
\n \u25c6 \uff1cPhoto Report on N.Korea\uff1e Experiencing the Lives of Ordinary People, \u201cSobicha\u201c (service car)<\/a><\/span>
\n\u25c6 [Video Report] National bus network of the North Korean market economy<\/a><\/span>
\n\u25c6 \uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Drastic Increase of Inmates at \u201cTraining Camp by Labor\u201d: \u201cPeople Dying of Malnutrition and Physical Abuse\u201d, a Former Inmate Testifies<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"rimjingang_banner001\"*\u00a0<\/span><\/a>Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a>
\n <\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/a> <\/strong><\/span>
\n ARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a><\/span>
\n DPRK MAP >><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  2016\/Nov\/18 According to ASIAPRESS partners in North Korea, the power supply got deteriorated in some parts of No\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}