The DPRK sees the development of the chemical industry as one of the important solutions to building a self-supporting economy. In other words, it plans to get raw materials that do not exist in the country or are in short supply by chemical methods by developing the chemical industry and thus give impetus to the growth of the overall economy.

To this end, it is working hard to build a new chemical industry relying on locally available raw materials and resources, and rearrange, reinforce, modernize and reenergize chemical factories.

Primary effort is being directed to establishing the C1 chemical industry.

Today, the countries that have no or less oil deposits are developing the C1 chemical industry in the direction of synthesizing such organic compounds as methanol, synthetic fuel oil, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid and olefins with carbon monoxide and hydrogen that are obtained from coal, natural gas or oil stone.

The Sunchon Chemical Complex is now pushing a project for the completion of the methanol production process, an important task in building the C1 chemical industry.

It works to solve technological problems arising in establishing the C1 chemical industry, including the production of additives capable of converting anthracite, which is used to generate gas, into the state of suspension and that of high-pressure oxygen needed for gas generation.

A project is also carried on in a planned way to modernize the chemical industry and readjust, reinforce and activate chemical factories.

An undertaking is under way at the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex to renovate the sodium carbonate production process relying on glauberite.

When glauberite is processed, sulphuric acid, caustic soda and sodium carbonate can be obtained without salt. The DPRK has rich deposits of glauberite.

When the sodium carbonate production process with a total floor space of tens of thousands of square metres which uses glauberite as starting material is rebuilt at the complex, it will produce sodium carbonate, ammonium sulphate, gypsum and raw materials for glass.

Projects are also being stepped up on an annual basis to turn the production processes of the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex, Hungnam Fertilizer Complex and February 8 Vinalon Complex into energy-, labour- and resource-saving and environment-friendly ones, along with the ones to complete a new type of processes for the production of vinyl sheet for greenhouses and melamine resin.

The DPRK also pays close attention to the work of using locally abundant lignite as a raw material for the chemical industry.

At the Sinuiju Chemical Fibre Mill, sci-tech measures have been taken to put the reed-based paper production for textbooks on a normal footing and a project for upgrading the mill progresses apace.

Researches are intensified to set up an advanced chemical industry, especially research into Lyocell fibre in the limelight of the world and the preparations for the completion of dry distillation process of brown coal.