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...
pyungyang students school vacations, schools

North Korean elementary students keep two diaries to hide feelings

Some elementary school students in parts of North Korea are keeping two separate diaries, with one written for school censorship and the other holds...
North Korean schoolchildren play piri flutes beside guitars laid out for a Kim Jong Un instrument donation

North Korean students resent piri in Kim Jong Un’s gift instruments

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave musical instruments to a lower secondary school in Ryanggang province last year. Now the school has assigned...
cryptocurrency, cybercrime, north korea, dprk, cyber, operatives

North Korea busts elite hacking ring inside its own banks

A criminal ring hacked into the internal networks of North Korea's central bank and its main foreign trade bank. The ring used cryptocurrency to...
Panoramic view of Hyesan city in Ryanggang province, North Korea, with the Yalu River in the foreground, August 2018

A teen’s vow to catch leeches moves North Koreans to tears

A high school sophomore in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, recently finished mandatory military training. The training is run by the Red Youth Guard, a paramilitary...
Moranbong No. 1 Middle School building in Pyongyang, North Korea

N. Korea shifts school repair bills from parents to factories

Attendance is improving at schools in Kimchaek city, North Hamgyong province. Authorities there have eased a longstanding practice that forced students and parents to...

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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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