20x10 Policy

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The Regional Development 20×10 Policy (Korean: 지방발전 20×10 정책) is a regional development program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced in January 2024 under the leadership of Kim Jong Un. It aims to build modern industrial factories in 20 cities and counties per year over a 10-year period with the stated goal of improving living standards outside Pyongyang and reducing disparities between regions.[1][2] In 2025, the program was expanded with the "Three Essential Projects" principle, adding plans to also build healthcare, leisure and grain management facilities in the target regions.[3]

Regional inequality has been a recurring issue in North Korea since the economic crises of the 1990s, with resources disproportionately concentrated in Pyongyang and selected provincial centers.[4] At the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2021, Kim Jong Un signaled a new emphasis on balanced regional growth, with Kimhwa County designated as a pilot site.[1][5]

The "20×10" slogan was later adopted to encapsulate the nationwide expansion of this policy: 20 localities per year for 10 years, symbolizing both scale and long-term commitment.[2]

Objectives

Analysts and state media identify the main objectives of the 20×10 Policy as:[1][4][2]

  • industrial modernisation through the construction of modern regional-industry factories producing food, clothing, paper, and other daily necessities,
  • balanced development to narrow the gap between Pyongyang and rural provinces,
  • integration of local factories with research and educational institutions,
  • self-sufficiency by reducing reliance on imports under sanctions, and
  • strengthening political legitimacy through visible economic projects.

Implementation

The policy was formally launched at the Tenth Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly in January 2024.[6][4]

According to 38 North, implementation included the reorganisation of a central committee mechanism for regional industrial modernisation, mobilisation of the Workers' Party and the Korean People's Army (including a dedicated construction regiment), and the selection of the first 20 localities across Kangwon, South Pyongan, and North Hwanghae provinces.[1][7][8]

By early 2025, DPRK media claimed the completion of multiple facilities in the first batch of counties, including regional-industry factories which typically consists of: a foodstuffs factory, a garment factory, and a daily-necessities factory.[2][9]

  1. A central committee mechanism for regional industrial modernization was reorganized to oversee the plan.[1]
  2. The Workers' Party and Korean People's Army were mobilised to provide labour, materials, and logistics (including creating a dedicated construction regiment).[7]
  3. The first 20 localities, including counties in Kangwon, South Pyongan, and North Hwanghae provinces, began factory construction in 2024.[8]

In february 2025, the WPK acknowledged that "the construction of regional-industry factories would not be enough to get rid of the age-old backwardness" of the rural regions, DPRK media reported. Thus, the authorities added the "Three Essential Projects" principle to the development program, which are to be pursued alongside the industrial projects. These projects consist of "healthcare facilities, leisure complexes and grain management facilities in all the cities and counties across the country".[3]

List of projects under the 20×10 Policy

Reception

References

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