NORTH KOREA. Chongjin, Hamgyongbuk-do.1986. When I first visited the Kim Chaek Ironworks, the largest ironworks in North Korea, in 1986, I was told that the works had an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons. There is no way of knowing what its capacity is today. A huge billboard showing the late president, Kim Il Sung, peering into a furnace is erected in front of the main gate to the ironworks. I was guided to various places inside the plant. Coupled with the falling snow, this area impressed on me a powerful visual image.