business loans

Markets, not wages, feed North Korean households

"The official salary from my workplace is about 30,000 North Korean won a month. But feeding our family of four takes more than 800,000...
Hard-hatted miners in front of an inscribed stone monument at the 2.8 Jikdong Youth Coal Mine

What’s behind North Korea’s coal industry push?

North Korea held the second plenary session of the ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea from June 20 to 22. According...
Image differencing map showing nighttime light increases across downtown Sinuiju and Wihwa Island greenhouse farm

Behind Sinuiju’s brighter nights, a widening electricity divide

Electricity supply in Sinuiju, North Pyongan province, has improved somewhat in 2026 compared with last year. Neighborhoods near provincial and city party offices, the...
hamhung

Rising prices drive North Korean women toward prostitution

More women in parts of North Korea are turning to prostitution to survive amid worsening economic hardship. Police have tried posing as clients to...
law, trials

Wealthy North Korean youth hide old players to dodge crackdowns

Young North Koreans from wealthy families are deliberately buying old, worn-out video players instead of newer models. They can easily afford better devices. Instead,...
A torchlight parade and evening gala marking the 11th Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League in Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korea targets university students in media crackdown

North Korea's state youth organization has ordered a special crackdown on banned foreign media. It has named university students as the "primary target," a...
A North Korean vehicle with a North Pyongan province license plate travels on a street in Dandong, Liaoning province, China, in February 2019.

Residency ID rumors spark hope for North Korean defectors in China

Rumors that China may soon issue permanent residency ID cards to North Korean defectors are spreading rapidly across the country's northeast. The rumors have...
Hard-hatted miners in front of an inscribed stone monument at the 2.8 Jikdong Youth Coal Mine

North Koreans flock to abandoned coal mines to beat the heat

North Koreans sweltering through a nationwide heat wave are flocking to an unlikely refuge: abandoned coal mine shafts. A source in South Pyongan province...

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North Korea Market Trends

Updated 26-07-19
Exchange Rate 1 USD → KPW
Pyongyang
65,000
Sinuiju
65,100
Hyesan
65,150
Full Exchange Rate Data →
Rice Prices KPW per kg
Pyongyang
40,000
Sinuiju
40,200
Hyesan
40,600
Full Rice Price Data →

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