The Sup’ung Hydroelectric power station that was first constructed in 1937 was jointly owned by Manchukuo and the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Yet, North Korea, after achieving independence and receiving the ownership of the power station from the Soviet military authorities, began to claim its sole ownership. During the Chinese civil war, although both Chinese Nationalist Party and Chinese Communist Party claimed a joint ownership of the power station and demanded North Korea to share the electricity produced, Pyongyang nevertheless expressed its opposition. Mao zedong’s request for the Soviet’s mediation was no use in resolving the dispute over the power station, due to both Stalin’s and Kim Il-sung’s unwillingness. As a result, China had to purchase the electricity produced by the power station from North Korea. The ownership dispute surrounding the Sup’ung Hydroelectric power station was only resolved in April 1955, when Pyongyang was heavily dependent on Beijing for postwar economic reconstruction and security concerns and when Beijing and Moscow were enjoying their honeymoon period. In short, the ownership dispute evidently demonstrates that China and North korea prioritized their own national interests even when the Cold War structure and the two countries’ socialist fraternity were being increasingly strengthened.
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