Report: North Korea builds more oil storage facilities at Nampo Port

Feb. 2 (UPI) — North Korea has been building additional oil storage in Nampo port, with more than 30 new tanks completed since 2018, according to a recent press report.

Satellite imagery analysis by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies shared on Google Earth shows the Nampo area included five previously unseen oil tanks Dec. 23. Each measured from 82 to 105 feet in diameter, Voice of America’s Korean service reported Monday.

Pyongyang has restricted trade with the outside world since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but essential exchange still could be taking place with its closest partners, China and Russia.

North Korea began to improve oil storage facilities in Nampo in 2018, when satellite images showed construction of new tanks. About 26 tanks or large-scale storage facilities were built in two years.

In August, a new tank that measured about 98 feet in diameter and stood 33 feet high was seen by satellite, according to VOA. The five new tanks seen in images from December bring the total to 31 oil tanks constructed in the past two years at Nampo.

United Nations Security Council sanctions restrict the amount of refined oil North Korea can import annually. The cap has remained at 500,000 barrels per year after the Security Council passed sanctions Resolution 2397 in December 2017.

Before the resolution, North Korea imported about 2 million barrels of oil annually, according to VOA.

North Korean oil storage construction is underway as the country moves forward with a new five-year economic plan focused on “self-reliance.”

Korean Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Tuesday that the country has achieved its January targets in various sectors including the coal industry.

Targets were reached ahead of schedule in coalmines, including at the Sunchon Area Youth Coal Mining Complex, state media said. The Rodong had previously reported state goals were also reached in the chemical and energy sectors.

Source: UPI