2nd Economic Committee
The 2nd Economic Committee, which is in charge of its defense industry, is run by the Party Central Committee. In the Party Central Committee, Secretary Chun Byung-ho is in charge of the defense industry and runs the Department of Machinery Industry. The 2nd Economic Committee is located in Kangdongkun of Pyongyang, and consists of eight General Bureaus and one bureau, the 2nd National Science Institute, and one trading company for material. The
the committee is divided into bureaus by the types of weapons:
- 1st General Bureau -- light firearms, ammunitions, and general equipment
- 2nd General Bureau -- tanks and armored vehicles
- 3rd General Bureau -- various kinds of guns and cannons
- 4th General Bureau -- rockets and missiles
- 5th General Bureau -- nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons
- 6th General Bureau -- [unknown, existence unconfirmed]
- 7th General Bureau -- aircraft and telecommunications equipment
The No. 2 Economic Committee of the Worker's Party oversees all production activity. The military keeps track of consumption and demand while the government delivers electricity and necessary raw materials. The No. 2 Economic Committee was created in the seventies by merging all offices and bureaus related to arms production scattered under various departments of the Administrative Council. The committee has entire production plants under its management for production of small-arms, ships, and even aircraft. The committee also takes a leading role in development of new equipment as well as export and import of arms. Even civilian manufacturing plants operating under the Administrative Council are obligated to set aside workspace for production of small arms and their parts, the production of which is supervised by the No. 2 Economic Committee.
Sources and Resources
- North Korean Mass Destruction Weapons Choi Ju-hwal, OCTOBER 21 1997
- South Korea: Weekly Discusses DPRK Weapon System : FBIS-EAS-98-282 : 9 Oct 1998 [by reporter Yu Yong-won -- Seoul Chugan Choson 1 Oct 98 pp 54-55]
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/agency/2_econ_com.htm
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