North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion ceremony of the Hoeyang County People's Power Station. Yonhap News Agency

North Korea appears to be planning to construct a new dam and power station near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Goseong, Gangwon Province, U.S. North Korea-focused media NK News reported on the 28th (local time).

NK News analyzed footage from a Korean Central Television report on Nov. 21, which showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending the completion ceremony of the Hoeyang County People's Power Station in Gangwon Province, and stated that among the power stations to be built in the future, there is the Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station, adjacent to the DMZ.

The Gangwon Province hydropower construction plan that Kim inspected at the time showed completed, under-construction, and planned power stations on a map. The Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station is classified as a planned power station.

North Korean media have not separately reported on the construction plan for the Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station. However, given that Kim stated at the completion ceremony that he "grasped new power generation capacity creation plans," it is possible that the construction of the Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station is included in the new plans.

NK News compared the location of the Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station with Google satellite imagery and analyzed that "a dam and a hydropower station are planned to be built near Wolbisal-ri, around a large bend in the Namgang River in Goseong County."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion ceremony of the Hoeyang County People's Power Station in Gangwon Province on the 21st. Yonhap News Agency

It also suggested that the reservoir created by the dam construction, although located to the north, could flood South Korean territory within the valley along the river to the south of the reservoir's edge when the water level rises upon completion, stating, "If the project bears fruit, it could become a point of contention with the South Korean military."

NK News added that the reservoir's boundary could extend to the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, and that this area is where South Korean military forces are heavily concentrated within the DMZ.

Following its designation of inter-Korean relations as between two 'hostile countries,' North Korea has been establishing new defensive lines in most areas within the DMZ. However, defensive lines have not yet been established near the reservoir that would be created by the Goseong No. 2 County People's Power Station.

NK News speculated that the reason for not reinforcing defensive lines in this area might be due to the power station project.

NK News stated that no major signs of dam construction have been detected in satellite imagery so far, but there were minor excavation and construction activities at the bend of the Namgang River between June and August of this year.

Yonhap News