Category: Economy

Sign up here. These words are often thrown around, but what is the real difference between socialism and capitalism? At its core, it is a...

For decades, North Korea sent workers abroad to build buildings, cut timber and slave in factories. Their wages in dollars flowed back to Pyongyang. Then...

In North Korea, the word “tax” does not exist. Instead, we talk of a “usage fee.” Why the euphemism? To be frank, I don’t know....

Exchange rates for the U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan in North Korea are showing unstable fluctuations. Recent reports indicate that in border regions between North...

Here's what happens every time an electric vehicle is reportedly spotted in North Korea: everybody stops and asks the same questions. How can EVs be...

The North Korean regime is currently pushing economic development under the banner of a “20×10 Local Development Strategy.”  This plan aims to build industrial factories...

Some farms in North Hamgyong Province have reportedly distributed newly harvested rice to farm households for the annual Chuseok harvest festival.  This measure appears to...

Recent developments indicate that both exchange rates and food prices have dropped simultaneously in North Korea. According to an investigation conducted by NK Times from...

After earlier allowing ordinary citizens to own their own cars, the government has taken high-end foreign luxury brands off the list of permitted vehicles. According...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over the long-delayed grand opening of the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area on June 24. After years of construction delays,...

A recent surge in the U.S. dollar exchange rate against the North Korean won appears to have led to a rise in food prices. According...

When I lived in North Korea, which was until recently, anything related to South Korea was completely taboo. All we knew was that it was...

Chinese capital appears to have recovered its appetite for investment in North Korea. After a loss of trust in recent years due to repeated breaches...

In North Korea, it is not possible to buy and sell land or property. We all have no doubt about that. All houses and buildings...

North Korea is taking a leaf out of the capitalist book to incentivize citizens to turn in people engaged in illegal economic activity. While betraying...

North Korea issued a fresh warning this month in what looks like its losing battle to crack down on private economic activity. Authorities on April...

Provincial governments are conducting a donation campaign targeting wealthy merchants to fund local development projects, according to sources in North Korea.

Despite being closed off from the world, politically and economically, North Korea cannot survive without foreign currency. This, of course, applies to some degree to all countries in the international trading system. But ever since the 1994-1998 famine – which North Koreans refer to as the ‘Arduous March’ – foreign currency earning in the country has taken on a unique character. Not only has it become the key to the country’s continued survival. But the system itself that depends on it can no longer be considered normal.