Analysis & Opinion About North Korea

grains, food purchases

Grain stores scramble the math on North Korea’s rice prices

Lee Sang Yong, Hwang Hyun-uk -
For decades, the price of a kilogram of rice at the market has served as the single most important gauge of North Korea’s economy....
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Propaganda mural depicting Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il surrounded by children at the Mangyongdae Funfair bullet train ride, Pyongyang

Fearing a slip, North Koreans avoid saying “unification”

Lee Sang Yong, Hwang Hyun-uk -
North Koreans still think of South Koreans as members of the same nation, but many now fear those words could slip out at the...
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Front cover of “Rich and Spicy Northern Dialects,” a book on North Korean regional dialects by defector Seol Song Ah

Listening to how North Koreans talk

Lee Sang-yong -
A film I watched recently added Korean subtitles to a conversation between North Korean characters, as though they were speaking a foreign language. Eight...
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Latest North Korea News

A wide aerial view of flooded rice paddies divided by raised earthen paths, with a small tractor working one field, trees and a rooftop in the foreground, and a village and hills in the distance, in Anak county, South Hwanghae province, North Korea.

Soaring grain prices bury farm workers in debt

Lee Chae Eun -
Soaring grain prices have left farm workers in North Korea’s North Hwanghae province facing a hungry winter in 2026. Many borrowed food and daily...
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A photo of Hyesan's downtown area.

South Korean goods shut out of Hyesan customs trade

Lee Chae Eun -
Chinese goods are pouring into North Korea through the customs office in Hyesan this November 2026, yet traders who built their businesses on South...
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A blue FAW truck parked in front of a building at Chongsan-ri Farm in Kangso, North Korea, with a child walking in the foreground.

Empty-handed farmers drive up rice prices

Park Hee-soo -
Farm workers in South Hwanghae province are flooding local markets to buy rice in November 2026, with tighter state grain procurement leaving them with...
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Coal briquettes stacked in rows in North Korea

Firewood and coal prices double in Ryanggang province

Jeong Seo-yeong -
Firewood and coal prices have doubled in North Korea’s Ryanggang province after a sudden cold snap, a local source said. Low-income families in Hyesan,...
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north korean students

Top grades, top class: Hyesan schools rank students

Kim Ji-woo -
Some junior and senior middle schools in Hyesan, a North Korean border city, began sorting students into ranked classes by grades in 2026. The...
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North Korea Market Trends

Updated 26-10-25
Exchange Rate 1 USD → KPW
Pyongyang
69,200
Sinuiju
69,210
Hyesan
70,000
Full Exchange Rate Data →
Rice Prices KPW per kg
Pyongyang
51,700
Sinuiju
51,800
Hyesan
52,000
Full Rice Price Data →

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