North Korea produces not only ballistic missiles - the country of the victorious ideas of Juche has its own auto industry. Quantity automotive brands and the volume of production of cars in the DPRK is very modest. Personal cars are available only to a limited circle of people - they are almost impossible to buy, and for a six-month training in a driving school, you need a recommendation from your boss.
The automotive industry of North Korea originates from the auto industry of the USSR. From the 1950s until the late 1990s, all cars that were produced in the DPRK were licensed copies Soviet cars. Due to the closed nature of the country itself, data on automotive industry only limitedly available.
Opened in 1950 and to this day remains the largest automobile enterprise countries, the plant in Seungri (Sungri motor plant) at different times produced several types passenger cars and a whole bunch of trucks. The enterprise is located on an area of 600 thousand square meters, in 1980 the plant produced about 20 thousand cars a year, but in 1996 this figure was only 150 cars. All models produced by the plant in one way or another copy cars from other countries, mainly the USSR.
 |
Sungri 58 - copy of "GAZ-51" |
So, the company to this day produces the Soviet M-20 "Victory", which in North Korea received the extravagant name "Morning Flower" (Achimkoy) and "GAZ-69", which, after the factory "modernization", began to look somewhat like an American Jeep.
 |
Achimkoy - "Morning flower". North Korean copy of "Victory" |
This version of the machine has received the corresponding name - Kaengsaeng, which roughly translates as "rely on yourself."
It is noteworthy that the same name went to a completely copied Mercedes-Benz 190E in the back of the W201, a batch of which was bought by the North Korean authorities in the late 1980s for subsequent reproduction by the country's engineers. The North Korean 190E was named Kaengsaeng 88, the main visual difference from the original was a new grille. According to some reports, North Korean experts chose not to copy the engine and equipped the model with a GAZ-69 engine. Others interesting details are the absence of a "stove" in the car and the inability to lower the windows, even manually. Despite this circumstance, road dust constantly gets into the car on the go. Based on the few images of this car available, the rear view mirror was only installed on the driver's door.
 |
In addition, the plant produced the Jaju sedan, presumably repeating the old Volkswagen Jetta or Passat [^], and a whole string of two- and three-axle trucks copied from the Soviet KrAZ-256 and GAZ-51 and GAZ-63.
It is noteworthy that the GAZ engines were copied so badly that the car consumed much more gasoline than the original.
In the late 1960s, some models were moved to another enterprise - Pyongsang Auto Works. This plant later began to produce copies of KamAZ trucks.
According to bloggers, various variations are widely used in the country. Soviet trucks working on gas generators, or, in other words, on wood.
In this case, a barrel for burning logs is located in the back of the car, and the car can move at speeds up to 30 km / h. However, it is not known whether trucks are equipped with such power plants at the factory or is it a subsequent modification of "craftsmen".
 |
 |
The production capacity of Pyeonghwa Motors allows the production of about 10 thousand cars a year, but for most of the history of the plant's existence, the number assembled machines was 300-400 copies per year.
 |
Changes were outlined only in 2009 - the plant produced 1.4 thousand cars. In 2010, the figure slightly decreased - to 1.3 thousand, but in 2011 it rose again (1.8 thousand cars). According to the Irkutsk autoportal 38a.ru, the company expects to export its products: the cost of the company's cars is about $7-8 thousand. So far, the plant exports part of its products only to Vietnam.
Russian auto giant AvtoVAZ has been systematically exporting cars to North Korea, and the volume of these exports looks quite weighty against the background of Pyeonghwa Motors, which is most likely the largest production in the country. Thus, AvtoVAZ delivered 350 vehicles to North Korea in 2011. Earlier, in 2008, North Korean authorities ordered 850 cars Lada. In 2009, this figure was lower - 530 cars, and in 2010 there were no orders from North Korea.
 |
Among imported models most popular in North Korea Chinese BYD F3 and Russian Lada Priora, writes the editors of bestsellingcarsblog.com. However, the seemingly logical choice Japanese cars prohibited in the DPRK - in connection with personal dissatisfaction with Kim Jong Il, Japanese cars were decided to be withdrawn from the population. As writes " Russian newspaper", the reason for this was a broken Japanese car, which blocked the path of the late leader.
"To these Japanese cars in our country was no more!' said Kim Jong Il.
The small scale of the passenger car industry in North Korea is quite understandable: Personal car it is almost impossible to buy in the country if there are no certain connections with the authorities. According to the Seoul Gazette, the formal opportunity to buy personal car appeared in North Korea in the mid-1980s, but the price of cars significantly exceeded world prices. If this circumstance is understandable, then another requirement of the authorities is not entirely clear - to buy, maintain and refuel a personal car only for foreign currency.
The vast majority of cars in the DPRK are trucks. To drive any car here, as elsewhere, you need rights, and it is very difficult to get them, writes the Seoul Gazette. To do this, you either need to spend six months in a driving school, for admission to which you need a recommendation from your superiors and where classes last all day, and training includes a full-fledged car repair course - since the country's fleet is hopelessly outdated and constantly requires the attention of auto mechanics. All the time of study, students live in hostels. It is assumed that any owner driving license can service your car in any situation and conditions. In addition, the opportunity to pass the exam for the rights can be obtained after two years of work as an auto mechanic or driver's assistant.
In the DPRK, there are four types of rights for different categories of transport: trucks, buses, SUVs and cars. According to the classification of the DPRK authorities, driving passenger car requires the most skills, to improve the category of rights you need to work as a driver and pass the necessary exams.
 |
Despite the lack of cars among the population, the leaders of the DPRK have always been provided with cars.
According to media reports, the founder of the North Korean regime, Kim Il Sung, had a fleet of 1,000 foreign cars, mainly premium and luxury classes. In the late 1990s, Kim Jong Il was at the center of a car scandal: the leader of the DPRK ordered 200 Mercedes-Benz sedans S-Class with money received as UN humanitarian aid. However, at present, the isolation of North Korea from the rest of the world makes it much more difficult for the country's leadership to buy expensive cars abroad.
North Korea is one of the most closed mysterious countries on the planet. For many in the world, this country is of interest only from the political side. For us, at first glance, North Korea is also not particularly interesting. But, nevertheless, after seeing some of the pictures taken on the roads of this country, many of us will see familiar pictures. Which? Read on.
This country supports the Communist regime, which has been in our country for more than half a century. Once in North Korea, those who remember the USSR may think that they have returned to their past. Despite Communism in our country, during the Soviet Union, as now, everyone loved cars. The only thing that upset me was that in order to buy a car, it was necessary not only to accumulate a considerable amount, but also to wait in line for a quota of cars for ownership, which was introduced by the Soviet authorities. The same thing is happening in North Korea today.
Therefore, there is very little traffic on the roads of the country. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of this country, like us, despite prohibitions and a small salary, love cars. But unlike the USSR, on the roads of North Korea there are often expensive foreign cars, such as the Cayenne.
The largest number of various brands is traditionally located at airport parking lots. Unfortunately, not one photographer and journalist can take pictures near the airport.
It is worth noting that the country has a huge number of bicycles, which make up the bulk Vehicle Korea. There are also a lot of old cars on the roads. But, for example, in Pyongyang luxury sedans on the road is a common thing.
But despite the strict Communist regime, North Korea's capital is changing. If four years ago the roads of the city were empty, as in 60 years in St. Petersburg, today Pyongyang can be compared with the traffic of some average city in Russia.
True, it is worth paying attention that only recently traffic lights began to appear in the city. Before road traffic run by female traffic controllers.
But their presence in the city is declining due to the modernization that began in early 2014.
What cars drive on the roads of Pyongyang? 30 percent are various jeeps. 20 percent of vehicles are either new or manufactured after 2008, which are luxury sedans or SUVs.
30 percent of vehicles belong to the old fleet (Russian or Soviet cars, Swedish-made cars, German cars) produced from the 50s to the end of the 80s. The remaining 20 percent of cars are cheap, questionable quality, bad looking cars made in North Korea or imported from China.
The most surprising thing is that officially a car cannot be bought in this country. The machine is provided by the Party if a person is a member of it. This explains why there are so many domestic cars UAZ-469, which began to be used in Soviet years at the beginning of 1970.
For example, in Pyongyang there are a huge number of these SUVs.
Why do you think Koreans need a car? In this country, he is needed to go to special outlets for products that are issued on cards distributed by the Communist Party of the country. All shops in the country are subdivided into the type of certain goods. Therefore, in order to get a large assortment of products, Koreans have to travel across different places. Our UAZs come to their aid.
In Pyongyang, you will see these SUVs near amusement parks, in the parking lots of schools and libraries. UAZ is also common in North Korea, as well as in the USA. Why is this our domestic old SUV became so popular in the most amazing country in the world, namely in Pyongyang? The thing is that the city is located in a mountainous area. The roads in and around the city are in a terrible state. Some gas stations in the city are located in places where a passenger car cannot pass. The patency of our car is beyond doubt. Plus small cost. That's the reason for the popularity of our SUV.
It is very difficult with fuel in the country. For many months, most cities may be out of fuel. The country's supreme leader has patented a technology for obtaining fuel while the car is moving. Most of the trucks in the provinces use this technology. For example, a special tank is installed in the back of the car, in which, like in a stove, wood is burned, which turns into coal, as a result of which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are released. These substances are then fed into the combustion chamber. diesel engine truck.
These trucks serve two purposes. First task trucks powered by strange fuels, this is the transfer of goods between two ports or numerous developing cities. Another function is to transport people through the mountains.
The main disadvantage of all these trucks is the terrible smell from the combustion of biomass.
Due to the lack of fuel and restrictions on the growth of cars in the country, there is very little road traffic. On the one hand, this is very good for the environment. But when burning strange automotive fuel pollution is naturally several times greater than from any car that runs on modern fuel.
But that's not all that surprises about North Korea. It would be this country if there were not so many absurdities in it. So North Korea has its own car company Pyeonghwa, which is joint venture Northern and South Korea. Cars under this brand are produced in the DPRK. But surprisingly, if you drive all day in Pyongyang, you may not see a single Pyeonghwa brand car all day long. But you will find a huge number of BYD brand cars. Country that limits growth car mass, does not allow direct purchase of cars ordinary citizens, but does not restrict the import Chinese cars to support your domestic brand seems to be completely absurd. It seems that the import of cars into the country still remains a priority for the country.
North Korea is a great place on earth to look at cars from the 70s that have been preserved in their original form. Apart from Russian UAZ, it is common to see our old Volga on the road, which was produced by the GAZ automobile plant. This car gained the greatest popularity in the USSR as a taxi. But in North Korea this car is a luxury status. But there are also taxis in the city, although they are not particularly needed in the country, since most citizens cannot afford to ride a taxi, since most citizens live on a meager salary. Greens and yellow taxis, which travel empty in the city, are mainly needed for visiting foreigners.
North Korea is said to be a country with zero car "culture". Despite the undeveloped automotive industry and various restrictions, cars are still loved in the country. The most surprising thing is that even in the almost complete absence of Money among the population, we see that people buy very old cars, put their whole soul into them and monitor its condition, like an expensive luxury foreign car. Therefore, there are a lot of old cars in the country in good condition that drive along the roads of Korea, and do not while away their last days at the landfill.
Yes, a totalitarian regime is the greatest evil that can be in a state. But there are also advantages. People, in connection with the desire to own a car, within the limits of their minimum family budget, do not seek to show their ambitions on the road with a luxury car. Everyone on the road is equal and respectful of each other, regardless of who drives what car.
Here are some more photos of North Korea:
Here everyone is now writing about North Korea, the most fashionable topic in recent days. This is due to the next conflict between the DPRK and the civilized world; most likely Comrade Kim Jong-un once again wants to get money) I also decided to write a short post about the realities of this country.
In general, the DPRK is a very unique place, probably there are no more states in the world with the same degree of closeness. Personally, I was going to visit North Korea a couple of years ago, but then I read the reviews of travelers and decided that in this moment there is nothing to do there, all the photo reports from there look like twin brothers. It happens because each tourist group is assigned two guards - "guides" from the local special services, who lead tourists around the country by the hand, showing regular attractions.
You will not find on the Internet high-quality pictures of any residential area on the outskirts of Pyongyang, ordinary shops, entrances and apartments, the guides simply will not let you take a picture of it all. Nevertheless, some tourists still manage to take a few photographs of the life and realities of this country on the way to the monuments of the "outstanding ideas of Juche".
In this post, I have collected a few photographs of North Korean transport. So, under the cut is a story about what people drive in the DPRK.
02. Let's start with how tourists get to North Korea. In the DPRK, there is only one airline - "Air Korea", which is engaged in all air transportation in different directions. There is regular air communication with Russia - flights fly from Vladivostok to Pyongyang and back. A few tourists and all sorts of Russian statesmen, military song and dance ensembles, as well as journalists fly on planes. Pyongyang also regularly sends Korean workers to other countries to earn hard currency to support the regime.
The Air Koryo fleet is represented mainly by old TU-204s:
03. Inside, the planes look pretty decent, although according to travelers, it’s still scary to fly, the planes are old, and besides, Air Korea traditionally tops the lists of the most unreliable airlines in the world.
04. Food on board the Air Korea liner - burger with cutlet and salad:
05. The DPRK has a fairly extensive river network and there is cargo transportation along the rivers. Barges and other ships are usually very old and look something like this:
06. In order for the sides not to be heavily upholstered during mooring, old car tires are attached to the sides of the vessel with the help of chains.
07. And another boat, also with tires. Here I really liked the deck structure with a wooden paneled door))
08. Automobile transport in North Korea is represented by a few models of cars, most of them are very old and often break down. Pictured is a Volvo 144 under repair. By the way, the DPRK has not paid off with Sweden for these "Volvos" so far.
09. You can also find old Romanian Dacias, donated or sold in the DPRK, probably even when. But these are not the oldest cars in North Korea either - on the roads there you can still see working Soviet gas-generating trucks (on firewood), which probably came to this country under Stalin.
10. Newer cars around the airport. You can have private cars in the DPRK, for example, a wealthy relative from China or Japan can give them to you. True, according to North Korean laws, in this case, he will have to donate another exactly the same car "for the state's income," in other words, to Kim Chenyn's officials.
12. In the capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang, trams and buses run. Trams tend to be very old; tourists write that these are models of some local production, but personally it seems doubtful to me, in my opinion, these are some old GDR cars:
13. The cars are usually in poor condition, with peeling paint, rusty. There is no glass in the car in the back photo. It is also likely that such cars rumble a lot when moving, I think wheels are rarely turned in the DPRK.
14. The driver looks like this. It is a pity, of course, that there is not a single photo of the tram from the inside - tourists are simply not allowed there. I also liked the asterisks on board - on the sides of World War II aircraft, such asterisks denoted downed enemy aircraft; I'm even afraid to imagine what they can mean on a Pyongyang tram))
15. There are also buses in North Korea. Pyongyang specimens look something like this. In the same way as trams, they are repainted many times (with brushes by hand).
16. The interior of the bus is newer. Pay attention to the clothes of passengers - the style is stuck somewhere in the 50-60s:
17. Street traffic controllers. Traffic lights in the DPRK rarely work, and there are live traffic controllers on all roads. In other cities of the country, this work is done by men, and in the capital Pyongyang, as a rule, girls.
18. There is also a subway in Pyongyang, which consists of two lines and 17 stations. The metro was opened in 1973 and copied the Stalinist style, but through the prism of "faster, higher, stronger" - almost all Pyongyang stations are longer and taller than Moscow ones.
Metro map on the wall of one of the stations:
19. Subway trains are as old as they are ground transport, once North Korea bought them in the GDR. The train consists of 4 cars each, all trains are painted in the same red-olive livery:
20. Interesting feature wagons - the doors are opened manually and closed automatically. To open the doors from the outside, these handles are attached:
21. Boarding the car:
22. Subway passengers:
23. One of the stations. Until 2014, only 2 out of 17 stations were shown to tourists, now all are available for viewing.
Photo: Zhang Peng/LightRocket | Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket | Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us | Anthony Asael/Art in All of Us | Irina Kalashnikova | Mark / Contributor.
Here is a transport
In general, as I wrote at the beginning of the post, it is completely pointless to go to the DPRK now - you will not be allowed to see practically anything outside the tourist program, so you have to wait until either the donkey dies or the sultan dies.
Would you like to visit North Korea?
Tell me, it's interesting.
By 2012, the DPRK was already producing several brands of cars, minibuses and jeeps. Imported Lexus, Mercedes and BMW, Chinese buses and trucks. Even 5 years ago, the fleet of executive cars was limited to old decommissioned 40-year-old Mercedes, and now they have already gone down in history.
Pyeonghwa Motors auto factory in Nampo produces cars and minibuses "Samtsongli" ("3 thousand li", minibus), "Pokugi" ("cuckoo", off-road vehicles), "Hiparam" ("whistling", passenger car). This is a joint venture with South Korea, cars are produced under licenses foreign manufacturers(Fiat, Chinese concerns).
The emblem of "Pyeonghwa" - "peace".
Minibus "Samtsonli" (Samcheonri): it is on it that tourists are transported around the country. All cars are brand new, quite comfortable, except for the monstrous suspension, which makes the car shake a lot on any bump. These are not bad roads, this is how the minibus is made.
SUVs from North Korea "Pokugi" (Ppoggugi): 
It should be noted that the country has a significant number of SUVs and minibuses of local production. Penghwa products are even exported (to Vietnam, for example, and even to Latin America). In general, these are cheaper analogues of Chinese cars.
WITH trucks more difficult. If imports work in the capital chinese trucks, then outside of Pyongyang - the very notorious "wood-burning trucks" are operated by 95%. Brands they can be any - from Soviet one and a half 40s, to newer ZILs from the 70s, many old ones Chinese cars. All of them are converted from gasoline to wood. There is a stove in the back, its firebox is at the very bottom, half a meter from the roadway. Firewood or small coal is laid there. Such a truck travels at a decent speed - 40 or more km / h. They are not allowed into the capital, but outside the city they can be seen everywhere:
here, at the top left of the cabin, a smoking barrel is visible - this is the top of the stove: 
Another barrel stove in the car:
But the Chinese bus for tourists: 
In Pyongyang and some others major cities there are also trams (old Czech, mostly), trolleybuses, city buses. Pyongyang has a subway. There are also suburban trains in different parts of the country and long-distance trains.
A very new trolleybus (new by Korean standards):
A popular transport is a bicycle. Great on coupons - 180 won. Old used Chinese or Japanese (and it will be cool) - about 30-40 dollars in equivalent. In general, all equipment in the DPRK is used to the last, until the metal begins to crumble into dust. We saw on a mountain road an excellent adaptation for a bike to go down a mountain road. The bike hasn’t had brakes for 20 years already. A large stick is tied to the pedal, and when you need to slow down, a person presses the stick with his heel and it starts rubbing against the ground at one end (something like rubber is still stuffed on the stick at the end for better friction) - so and slows down on the serpentine. Women are still banned from cycling, but older women in the province still use it: 
Import fleet:
Well, the Air Koryo liner at the Pyongyang airport. For international flights, Air Core uses Tu-204, Il-62 and occasionally Il-18. The Yak-40 also fly inside the country. 
Pyeonghwa Motors Automobile Plant.
Production volumes in North Korea are much lower than in neighboring South Korea North Korea is not a member of the International Organization automotive manufacturers(MOAP) (fr. Organization internationale des constructeurs automobiles) or any other UN committees, so information on automotive industry Little North Korea. MOAP does not publish data on the automotive industry of the DPRK. According to outsiders, the DPRK has the capacity to produce between 40,000 and 50,000 vehicles a year, but only a few thousand have been produced over the past few years due to the current financial crisis.
Story
The automotive industry of the DPRK originated during the existence of the USSR, when it was granted the right to produce vehicles under Soviet licenses [ When?] . Soviet Union rendered all possible assistance in the construction automobile factories North Korea, equipping them with Soviet technology. The first cars produced in the DPRK were Soviet copies, such as GAZ-51 trucks, cars off-road GAZ-69 s all-wheel drive, cars GAZ-M-20 "Victory".
Automotive manufacturers
Sungri Automobile Plant
Auto plant "Pyeongsan"
In 1968, the Pyeongsan car plant in Pyeongsan at the Seungri Motors plant began production of the Kensen and Kensen NA models - a modified Seungri-4.10 4x4 car (a combination of GAZ-69 and Jeep) and a modified Seungri-4.25 4x4 pickup truck.
The 1970s also saw the launch of Thepaeksan [ What?] and a small truck "Thujeng".
Plant "March 30"
Since 1982, the 30 March plant has been producing 100-ton dump trucks Konsor-100
