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...
Side-by-side satellite comparison of the newly built Samsa and Sangdan train stations, showing their identical rectangular design and orange roofs

Satellite images reveal flooded rail line in Ryanggang province

I analyzed high-resolution satellite imagery of Paekam county, in North Korea's Ryanggang province, and found that a hydroelectric dam has flooded part of a...
A welcome performance held at Pyongyang Gymnasium on June 8, 2026, marking Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to North Korea

North Korea orders cabinet: take China’s cash, not its culture

North Korea has issued a new China directive to cabinet officials, ordering them to separate economic gains from ideological control even as Pyongyang seeks...
business loans

Guilt over watching K-drama leads to arrest in Pyongsong

North Korean authorities arrested two young men in Pyongsong, South Pyongan province, in 2026. Their crime was watching K-drama, the South Korean dramas widely...
View from a train crossing the Yalu River, with China visible on the right and North Korea on the left

In China, North Koreans hear they’re the poor ones

North Korean authorities boast of the country's rising international standing. But in 2026, a very different story is spreading among North Korean people in...
Crowds bow before the bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansudae Grand Monument, Pyongyang, October 2012

North Korea steps up surveillance to erase belief the two Koreas are “one people”

North Korea's Ministry of Social Security has ordered tighter surveillance of North Korean people. The goal is to root out the lingering belief that...
Kim Yo Jong shakes hands with a foreign dignitary at the 2018 Singapore Summit

NK foreign ministry briefs officials on US emergency order

North Korea's foreign ministry held an urgent briefing for senior officials after the United States extended its national emergency declaration over North Korea for...

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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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