Uranium mine and milling plant Pyongsan is home to one of two declared uranium milling plants within North Korea. The plant processes coal from a nearby mine to concentrate the uranium found in the coal into
yellowcake. The plant was declared to the international community in 1992. Reporting by a US-based researcher in August 2019 showed that the plant was leaking waste materials, leading to health concerns over those that live near the plant and fears that the pollution would travel down the Ryesong river to South Korean waters. The leaks were independently verified by
38 North. On 28 August 2019, the South Korean
Ministry of Unification announced that testing of a portion of the
Han River along the
Northern Limit Line was underway to determine the level of pollution and if any substantial radiation risk existed.
Nuclear Waste Dump In 2013 the North Korean Central Government and
Taipower began negotiations about shipping nuclear waste to P‘yŏngsan. The deal was "worth US$75.66 million envisaged shipping 60,000 barrels of nuclear waste, and a further 14,000 barrels in the second stage, with a total value of $150 million and that the North Koreans were after the deal as a source of foreign exchange" but has run into difficulty when
Taipower could not get an "export permit for the waste from the
Taiwanese Atomic Energy Council". ==Transport==