This promotion came in the wake of power struggle in late 2013 which ended with the execution of Jang Sungtaek, Kims uncle and second most powerful official. After the execution, control of the factory was transferred from Jangs political faction to the hands ofarmy.

According to Rodong, Chonji produces260 kinds of lubricating oils and greases. Since its opening in 1997, the number of products has increased 13-fold, while its production capacity has nearly quadrupled.

Kim lauded Chonji Lubricant Factory for its growth and the quality of its operations.

Itis an epoch-making event that our lubricant oil industry has grown to vie with advanced countries, Rodong quoted him as saying. The factory workers have plans tofurther expand localizationof raw materials, and to make headway into the overseas market. Reports also praised the plant for its use of technology, describing it as automatic, unmanned, computerized and utilizing robots for its packaging and labeling lines.

The state-run media did not provide the location of the factory nor its capacity or production volumes. North Korea publishes few statistics on its economic activities.

According to South Koreas Ministry of Unification, Chonji Lubricant Factory is a leading lubricants producer in the North. It is located 50 kilometers southwest of the capital, Pyongyang. The factory also has a research center and a big storage facility for raw materials and finished products.

Raw materials could be sourced from imports or from domestic refineries constructed in the 1970s, such as the Seungri chemical plant near the Russian borderand Bonghwa chemical plant along the border with China. Seungri has refining capacity of 2 million metric tons per year and Bonghwa 1.5 million t/y, but neither operates close to capacity due to difficulties obtaining crude oil. Since the collapse of Soviet Union, North Koreas crude oil import from Russia has almost stopped because Russia demanded a switch to hard money payment instead of an open account settlement.

Now, its crude oil supply is mostly from China. North Korea imports average 500,000 tons of crude oila yearfrom China, according to the Ministry of Unification.

The north hasfocusedon coal and coal-based chemical industry with its rich coal resource. Its refining industry is far behind in its scale, facilities and technology, said Ahn Jeeung,ofthe University of North Korean Studies.

But the Norths lubricant industry seems relatively better off, according to domestic and outside observers.

Rodong Sinmun reported that Chonji Lubricant Factory has obtained ISO quality certification for its products and has received OPEC tenders several times. Chonji brand lubricant oil has been the frequent of Pyongyang International Commodity Exhibition held every year. The lubricant oil also goes to China-Northeast Asia Expo held in Changchun, Jilin province in China. In 2005 North Korea announced that it developed nano-technology lubricant additives capable of improving engine oil longevity while saving fuel consumption.

North Korea is described by some as the last Stalinist state adhering strictly to communist principles. The North Korean regime is under international sanctions and economic embargoover nuclear tests and a missile development program. Banned and isolated from outside world, it is struggling to keep afloat with propaganda of self-reliant economy.