Photos:: A tour of the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory - Los Angeles Times

Photos:: A tour of the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

Journalists tour the factory floor.

Journalists tour the factory floor. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

May 8, 2016 10:54 AM PT

Journalists tour the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory that produces copper and aluminum wire. Guides say the factory has 1,000 employees, though only perhaps 100 appeared to be on duty as the throng of reporters toured the spotless facility. Much of the technology appeared to be extremely dated, and while employees boasted that all of the machines were North Korean-made, some were clearly produced abroad, by companies such as Nokia. Officials touted the benefits for the workers, including a perfectly manicured soccer field in front of the factory, and a recreation center that included a spa, barbershop, ping-pong hall, restaurants and mini-mart. A motto out front read: “Go forward to the final victory following the great leader Kim Jong Un!”

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A worker guides a copper plate into a machine that melts it and spins it into cable form at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

Ri Song Il, 50, who said he had worked at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory for 25 years. His salary is 300,000 won per month. At the unofficial exchange rate of 8,000 won to the dollar, that’s $37.50 a month. A bicycle at a Pyongyang department store costs about twice that much.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A control panel at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A control console on the factory floor at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

Tools at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A machine with open gears on the factory floor at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

The well-manicured soccer field in front of the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory. Men were playing soccer at 2 in the afternoon, though it was a workday.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A mural, left, that shows North Korean founder Kim Il Sung visiting the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory. The mural at right shows his son and successor Kim Jong Il visiting the factory. The plant is named the 326 Electric Cable Factory because the two Kims visited the factory together on March 26, 1968. Many places in North Korea are given such names to affiliate them with the regime’s cult of personality.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A mosaic outside the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory showcases North Korea’s rocket technology and industrial prowess. “Towards the world!” It reads.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A bulletin board shows a “model worker” from the 1980s at the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory.

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory

A piece of propaganda art outside the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable Factory. The poster exhorts workers to work hard ahead of the party congress. Depicted on poster are skyscrapers from the new “Future Science Street” in Pyongyang, a residential district for scientists and professors that was built at the behest of Kim Jong Un. “Let us greet the 7th Workers Party Congress with a high sense of political enthusiasm and brilliant labor achievements.”

(Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)

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