Juche

    Water is the life-giving that is inevitable in agriculture. Therefore, to supply water is one of the most important issues to be solved for each country in settling food problem. For this end, many countries are now introducing and utilizing various irrigation systems.

    In recent years the DPRK uses the irrigation system by gravity-fed waterway which is different from the one by power-driven pumping, thus satisfying the demand of water necessary for farming.

    The irrigation system by gravity-fed waterway is the system to send water to needed places by the method of gravity, using differences in topographically high and low places.

    Leader Kim Jong Il planned the huge nature-harnessing project of turning the irrigation system in the West Sea region which was dependent upon power-driven pumping for several decades into gravity-fed irrigation system. For its end he told to firstly turn the important irrigation systems in such regions of the West Sea such as South Phyongan Province, Pyongyang city and Nampho city into gravity-fed ones.

    As a result, since 2000, the project of Kaechon--Lake Thaesong waterway started first. That begins from Taedong River in Taegak-ri, Kaechon City of South Phyongan Province and reaches Lake Thaesong through Sunchon City, Sukchon County, Taedong County and Jungsan County, etc.

    18 million cubic metres of soil must be removed to canalize between the Taegak Youth Dam, the starting place of the waterway and Lake Thaesong. This huge waterway project was completed successfully in 2 years.

    On the basis of the success and experience of having completed the Kaechon--Lake Thaesong waterway project, the DPRK started, from 2003, the Paekma-Cholsan waterway project to supply water to the important farmlands of North Phyongan Province in the region of the West Sea by gravity. This waterway project was to irrigate enough water to tens of thousands of hectres of fertile lands in Phihyon County, Yomju County, Ryongchon County, Cholsan County, Tongrim County and Sinuiju City. It was a gigantic project to build several hundred kilometers of waterways, but it was also completed successfully in 2 years and inaugurated in 2005.

    The DPRK continuously built another gravity-fed waterway in the Miru Plain of North Hwanghae Province. This project to solve the water problem in the Miru Plain, one of the granaries in the West Sea region, was completed in 2009.

    These gravity-fed waterways built in the DPRK are now displaying a great vitality in its agricultural production and economic development.

    The regions with gravity-fed waterways could be prevented from water shortage and provided with water safely in doing farming. In the past those regions had networks of irrigation system, but reservoirs were not filled with enough water due to the abnormal climate phenomena and lack of power supply and their agricultural production was disturbed by water shortage every year. Thanks to the building of the gravity-fed waterways, decades of reservoirs in the regions were filled with enough water and farming was done every year, free from water shortage.

    And they could also economize tens of thousands kw of electricity that had been used to operate pumping facilities in those regions, and several hundred water pumps, electric motors and transformers which were unnecessary in the regions could be sent to other sectors of national economy. This is as same as to get bigger economic effect than to build a power station with capacity of tens of thousands kw of electricity. In addition, they built medium- and small-size low-head hydroelectric stations on the gravity-fed waterways to produce much electricity.

    The gravity-fed waterways have an important significance in preventing flood damage. Taegak Youth Dam and Lake Paekma Dam that were built in the upper part of the gravity-fed waterways control large amount of water, so that they can prevent flood damage in the lower part of the river.

    The gravity-fed waterways are now displaying a big vitality also in solving the problem of industrial waters and developing fish-breeding in Nampho city and some other cities.

    Irrigation by the gravity-fed waterway, the grand monumental edifice of the Songun era is the most profitable and effective irrigation method.