The
roads in North Korea just play a secondary role in
linking major railroad stations and harbors or two
nearby places. It also plays a role of major means of
transportation where the railroad or marine
transportation service is not available.
There
are many limitations in transportation of bulk cargo
between regions because of the nations mountainous
terrain and its industrial structure centered around
heavy and chemical industry. The government’s
unwillingness for expansion of automobile transportation
which will call for people’ s free movement and
control over the use of oil have been the stumbling
block to development of the roads in North Korea.
The
North’s major highways are:
-
the
Pyongyang-Soonan Highway (15km)
-
the
Pyongyang-Nampo Highway (44km)
-
the
Pyongyang-Wonsan Highway (189km)
-
the
Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang Highway (114km)
-
the
Pyongyang-Kaesung Highway (170km)
-
the
Pyongyang-Hyangsan Highway (120km)
-
the
Sariwon-Shinchon Highway (30km)
-
the
total length comes to 682km
-
The
Pyongyang-Nampo Highway was open to traffic on
October 11, 2000, being a 12-lane (48m wide) one.
The
network of trunk roads is established between Pyongyang
and Shinuiju (229km), between Wonsan and Rajin (660km)
and those linking east with west and those along the
border with China. Major trunk roads have been well
developed along with the railroads. Important regions
are interconnected with first or second-class highways.
The share of the roads for cargo transportation comes to
a mere 12%.