News & Insights

Tag: Economy

  • North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    Over half of these establishments in Liaoning province have closed their doors.

    According to Daily NK, several North Korean restaurants in Dandong recently stopped operations, including Ryugyong Sikdang and Taebosan. Their staff and managers have returned to North Korea.

    Unable to cover rent costs, North Korean trading companies and entities that managed these restaurants have largely shut down operations, transferring management rights to Chinese businesspeople. Some continue as North Korean-style restaurants, now employing Chinese staff.

    These restaurants have lost Chinese customers due to their higher prices compared to ordinary eateries.

    Link to Article

  • North Korean Urban Centers Rapidly Expanding Digital Payments via Cell Phones, But Rural Areas Lag Behind

    North Korean Urban Centers Rapidly Expanding Digital Payments via Cell Phones, But Rural Areas Lag Behind

    According to a Daily NK source recently, “The Central Committee’s Economic Department instructed the Central Bank through the Cabinet in early April to conduct a nationwide survey on electronic payments and foreign currency transactions. The survey was completed on Apr. 11, and currently, banks in all 13 provinces (and directly-governed cities) are analyzing the results based on reports compiling first-quarter data.”

    According to the findings, urban areas in the capital region, including Pyongyang and Nampo, saw approximately a 10 percentage point increase in the use of mobile phone payment apps based on barcodes and QR codes compared to the previous year. In fact, some stores in Pyongyang now display notices stating, “You only need your mobile phone, no cash required,” indicating that electronic payments are becoming relatively well-established.

    The survey found that electronic payments are most active in Pyongyang, Rason, Sinuiju, and Kaesong, with about 23% of people in these areas responding that “electronic payments are more convenient.” The source reported that “mobile phone payments” are rapidly becoming commonplace, especially among people in their 20s and 30s.

    Meanwhile, the electronic payment system barely functions in state-owned stores in remote areas of Gangwon, Jagang, and North and South Hamgyong provinces. 

    Link to Article

  • Larger North Korean Companies Authorized to Trade Independently with Russia and Middle East

    Larger North Korean Companies Authorized to Trade Independently with Russia and Middle East

    According to a Daily NK source in Pyongyang recently, “The Ministry of External Economic Affairs issued a directive in late March to trading companies and first-class enterprises under various ministries and central agencies, instructing them to independently develop and pursue trade activities according to their own circumstances starting this month.”

    The source explained that the core of this directive is to allow these entities to engage in foreign currency earning activities with minimal state intervention in their finances, while also granting them authority to independently establish joint ventures and collaborative projects.

    The source further revealed that “this directive is actually an attempt to secure funds for the party. Trading companies under Room 39 have already initiated practical contacts with Russia and the Middle East, and some have established joint ventures for medium to long-term business projects in foreign countries.”

    Link to Article

  • US Dollar Most Commonly Used Foreign Currency, Followed by Euro, Yuan and Yen

    US Dollar Most Commonly Used Foreign Currency, Followed by Euro, Yuan and Yen

    In Pyongyang, the U.S. dollar remains the most commonly used foreign currency, followed by the euro, yuan, and yen. The use of the Japanese yen slightly increased compared to the Chinese yuan in the beginning of this year.

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  • North Korean Products Showing up on Shelves in Chinese Border Cities

    North Korean Products Showing up on Shelves in Chinese Border Cities

    Products made in North Korea are now being exported to China and appearing on store shelves there. North Korean traders have been actively seeking outlets for various North Korean products.

    Currently, North Korean products can be found in stores across parts of Liaoning and Jilin provinces, areas where North Korean traders have established a significant presence.

    The North Korean items displayed on the Chinese store’s shelves included Mount Kumgang Conditioner, made by the Mount Kumgang Joint Venture; Pyongyang Fermented Soy Sauce, produced at the Taedonggang Food Factory; Corn Soda from the Rason Ryongson General Processing Factory; and 500ml bottles of black tea produced in Namsa village, Rangrang district, Pyongyang.

    Link to Article

  • North Korean special economic zone poised for revival in new Russia trade

    North Korean special economic zone poised for revival in new Russia trade

    “Rason, the oldest and largest of North Korea’s 29 economic development zones, has been central to the country’s push to attract foreign investment. It has one of North Korea’s first and biggest markets, was the site of the country’s first mobile network, and is the only place where North Korea legalised buying and selling homes in 2018, according to experts and North Korea’s government publications. Once a North Korean experiment in limited capitalism, the Rason Special Economic Zone appears to be the epicentre of the isolated country’s growing cooperation with Russia, experts say, including possible shipments of arms for the war in Ukraine.

    In recent months, there have been clear signs that the area is poised for a comeback, with ships docking there for the first time since 2018, and satellite imagery suggesting a spike in trade from both the port and a rail line to Russia.

    Although China – with its vastly larger economy and deeper historic ties with North Korea – might seem the obvious driver of a recovery in Rason, experts say the country’s deepening cooperation with Russia may make a more immediate impact.

    “Now that North Korea and Russia are becoming very close against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, Russia might send more tourists to North Korea, which can reinvigorate tourism (in Rason),” said Jeong Eunlee, a North Korea economy expert at South Korea’s government-run Korea Institute for National Unification.

    More at Reuters:
    https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korean-special-economic-zone-poised-revival-new-russia-trade-2023-11-29/

  • North Korea: Residents tell BBC of neighbors starving to death

    North Korea: Residents tell BBC of neighbors starving to death

    People in North Korea have told the BBC food is so scarce their neighbours have starved to death.

    Exclusive interviews gathered inside the world’s most isolated state suggest the situation is the worst it has been since the 1990s, experts say.

    The government sealed its borders in 2020, cutting off vital supplies. It has also tightened control over people’s lives, our interviewees say.

    Pyongyang told the BBC it has always prioritised its citizens’ interests.

    The BBC has secretly interviewed three ordinary people in North Korea, with the help of the organisation Daily NK which operates a network of sources in the country. They told us that since the border closure, they are afraid they will either starve to death or be executed for flouting the rules. It is extremely rare to hear from people living in North Korea.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65881803