Thus, though at a slow pace, development of North Korea's railways continued.
Entering the 1990s, Kukch'ŏl continued with its plans for electrification of the entire network.
After the electrification of part of the narrow gauge Paengmu Line was completed in August 1991, the Sinhŭng Line was electrified in 1992, as was a section of the Ongjin Line; in the same year, a "Railway Modernisation Plan" to further promote development of railway infrastructure was announced.
Plans to continue the construction of the Pukpu Line were kept alive; the next stage of this project envisioned the conversion of the existing narrow gauge Samjiyŏn Line to standard gauge, construction of new trackage from Motka, terminus of the Samjiyŏn Line, to Hŭngam on the Paengmu Line, and regauging of the Paengmu Line from Hŭngam to Musan.
Although survey work for the new section was begun, the DPRK's financial crisis of the 1990s led to the project being suspended until 2007.
The electrification of the Hambuk Line was finished in 1995 with the wiring of the Hoeryŏng–Namyang section, while the electrification of the Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line was completed on 15 April 1997.
In 1993, a plan to double track a total of 337 km of lines was started.
In the Japanese era, most trunk lines were double tracked; however, needing to rebuild quickly after the extensive destruction of the Korean War, these lines were rebuilt as single track lines - even the most important lines, such as the P'yŏngŭi Line to China.
Although work was said to have begun that year, none of the planned double tracking projects has been completed yet.
Despite all the lofty plans, between 1990 and 1996 only 67 km (42 mi) of new line was completed; the situation was little better in the second half of the Nineties, with 102 km (63 mi) of new line finished.

On 8 July 1994, Kim Il-sung died, leading to a national mourning period of several years.
This, together with the loss of aid money from former allies after the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe and the dissolution of the USSR, as well as major flooding and other natural disasters, led to a period of economic crisis known as the Arduous March; the attempt to overcome this through the introduction of the Sŏngun policy only served to exacerbate the situation.
Naturally, this seriously affected the railways as well, leading to severe deterioration of rolling stock and infrastructure, which significantly reduced operational capacity and efficiency, and made timetable operations practically impossible.

Through the 1990s, investment in rolling stock came to a standstill as well.
Although a small number of newly built diesel locomotives were imported from Russia in the first half of the decade, the situation had become so dire that in 1998 Kim Yong-sam, who had replaced Pak Yŏng-sŏk as Minister of Railways in September of that year, announced that due to the critical state of electricity generation in the country, electricity could not be guaranteed for the operation of trains, and consequently the use of steam locomotives would be reinstated on some lines.
Despite having reached the end of their service lives years before, Kukch'ŏl was nevertheless forced to rely once again on Japanese-built steam locomotives built before the Liberation of Korea.
However, political reasons made it impossible to admit that the country, which only twenty years earlier had been self-sufficient in the production of rolling stock, was unable to supply much-needed new locomotives.
Thus, the most decrepit of the K62-class diesel locomotives were converted to electric locomotives by replacing their diesel engines with electric motors, resulting in the Kanghaenggun-class (강행군, "Forced March"), the first eleven of which were put into service on electrified trunk lines in 1998.
For propaganda purposes, these were announced as being new domestically produced locomotives.
This was not the only case in which refurbished equipment, or equipment bought second-hand from overseas, was reported as new domestic production: the tram system opened in Ch'ŏngjin in 2002 was ann
Thus, though at a slow pace, development of North Korea's railways continued. Entering the 1990s, Kukch'ŏl continued with its plans for electrification of the entire network. After the electrification of part of the narrow gauge Paengmu Line was completed in August 1991, the Sinhŭng Line was electrified in 1992, as was a section of the Ongjin Line; in the same year, a "Railway Modernisation Plan" to further promote development of railway infrastructure was announced. Plans to continue the construction of the Pukpu Line were kept alive; the next stage of this project envisioned the conversion of the existing narrow gauge Samjiyŏn Line to standard gauge, construction of new trackage from Motka, terminus of the Samjiyŏn Line, to Hŭngam on the Paengmu Line, and regauging of the Paengmu Line from Hŭngam to Musan. Although survey work for the new section was begun, the DPRK's financial crisis of the 1990s led to the project being suspended until 2007. The electrification of the Hambuk Line was finished in 1995 with the wiring of the Hoeryŏng–Namyang section, while the electrification of the Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line was completed on 15 April 1997. In 1993, a plan to double track a total of 337 km of lines was started. In the Japanese era, most trunk lines were double tracked; however, needing to rebuild quickly after the extensive destruction of the Korean War, these lines were rebuilt as single track lines - even the most important lines, such as the P'yŏngŭi Line to China. Although work was said to have begun that year, none of the planned double tracking projects has been completed yet. Despite all the lofty plans, between 1990 and 1996 only 67 km (42 mi) of new line was completed; the situation was little better in the second half of the Nineties, with 102 km (63 mi) of new line finished.
On 8 July 1994, Kim Il-sung died, leading to a national mourning period of several years. This, together with the loss of aid money from former allies after the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe and the dissolution of the USSR, as well as major flooding and other natural disasters, led to a period of economic crisis known as the Arduous March; the attempt to overcome this through the introduction of the Sŏngun policy only served to exacerbate the situation. Naturally, this seriously affected the railways as well, leading to severe deterioration of rolling stock and infrastructure, which significantly reduced operational capacity and efficiency, and made timetable operations practically impossible.
Through the 1990s, investment in rolling stock came to a standstill as well. Although a small number of newly built diesel locomotives were imported from Russia in the first half of the decade, the situation had become so dire that in 1998 Kim Yong-sam, who had replaced Pak Yŏng-sŏk as Minister of Railways in September of that year, announced that due to the critical state of electricity generation in the country, electricity could not be guaranteed for the operation of trains, and consequently the use of steam locomotives would be reinstated on some lines. Despite having reached the end of their service lives years before, Kukch'ŏl was nevertheless forced to rely once again on Japanese-built steam locomotives built before the Liberation of Korea. However, political reasons made it impossible to admit that the country, which only twenty years earlier had been self-sufficient in the production of rolling stock, was unable to supply much-needed new locomotives. Thus, the most decrepit of the K62-class diesel locomotives were converted to electric locomotives by replacing their diesel engines with electric motors, resulting in the Kanghaenggun-class (강행군, "Forced March"), the first eleven of which were put into service on electrified trunk lines in 1998. For propaganda purposes, these were announced as being new domestically produced locomotives. This was not the only case in which refurbished equipment, or equipment bought second-hand from overseas, was reported as new domestic production: the tram system opened in Ch'ŏngjin in 2002 was ann
Korean State Railway