[KS] Chosen Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex

don kirk kirkdon at yahoo.com
Wed Aug 14 13:37:37 EDT 2013


Oh, right, I remember those bronze, or bronzed, plaques near the entrance of the main factory -- one memorializing Kim Il-sung's "guidance" visit, t'other Kim Jong-il's. Photographed them as the proud manager recalled the great honor bestowed by their visits. (He probably wasn't old enough to have been around for Kim Il-sung.)
Thanks for the history,
Don


________________________________
 From: Charles K. Armstrong <cra10 at columbia.edu>
To: koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com 
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:12 PM
Subject: Re: [KS] Chosen Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex
 

As a matter of fact it is, although according to our guides the plant  
was built under Kim Il Sung's guidance in 1967. In fact, the original  
plant was built by the Japanese company Chosen Nisso in the 1930s and  
rebuilt (after complete destruction by the US Air Force) with East  
German assistance in the 1950s.
-- 
Charles K. Armstrong
Professor of History
Columbia University
930 International Affairs Building
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027

Tel: 212-854-1721
Fax: 212-749-1497


Quoting don kirk <kirkdon at yahoo.com>:

> Wonder if that fertilizer plant is on the site of the showcase one  
> that we visited last summer....Look forward to seeing the book.
> Best regards,
> Don Kirk
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Charles K. Armstrong <cra10 at columbia.edu>
> To: koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com
> Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 6:11 PM
> Subject: Re: [KS] Chosen Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex
>
>
> Bill,
>
> The National Archives in College Park has extensive reports on the 
> bombing of Hamhung and Hungnam (the affiliated port city), including 
> descriptions and photos of the fertilizer plant. I refer to them in 
> the first chapter of my new book "Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and 
> the World, 1950 - 1992" (Cornell U. Press). best,
>
> Charles Armstrong
> --
> Charles K. Armstrong
> Professor of History
> Columbia University
> 930 International Affairs Building
> 420 West 118th Street
> New York, NY 10027
>
> Tel: 212-854-1721
> Fax: 212-749-1497
>
>
> Quoting Bill Streifer <photografr7 at yahoo.com>:
>
>> In late-July and August 1950, the Chosen Nitrogen Fertilizer Complex 
>>   in Hungnam, North Korea was bombed by the Far East Air Force. The 
>> plant was later described by the U.S. Air Force as a Thorium 
>> Processing Plant.
>>
>> Then, later that year, U.S./U.N. forces occupied the facility and 
>> seized documents. I believe that some of those documents are 
>> archived at the University of Maryland and/or the National Archives 
>> and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.
>>
>> Has anyone seen those specific documents either in Korean or their 
>> English translations? If so, do they confirm that the plant was 
>> processing nuclear materials? If you are in possession of even one 
>> of those documents, could you please reply here or contact me 
>> directly? I would like to view that document or documents myself.
>>
>> Thank you.
>> Bill Streifer
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