Analysis & Opinion About North Korea

Kim Jong Un visits a Korean People's Army mechanized infantry unit in western North Korea on Apr. 25, 2026, during the 94th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army

Why is North Korea’s loyalty language to Kim Jong Un suddenly softer?

Jung Kyo-jin -
North Korea's Ninth Party Congress in 2026 formally cemented Kim Jong Un's status as the country's supreme and unchallenged leader. Yet a recent destroyer...
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farm

Puppet speech crackdown gains new legal weight from North Korea’s constitution

Lee Sang Yong, Hwang Hyun-uk -
North Korea's 2026 constitutional amendment protecting Pyongyang Cultural Language has fueled a renewed puppet speech crackdown. Schools, workplaces and neighborhood organizations have stepped up...
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Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae walk past a wall inscribed with names at the Taesong Mountain Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery in Pyongyang, flanked by North Korean officials, during an Aug. 14 visit marking the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation.

Kim Ju Ae’s contrasting expressions offer clues to her succession training

Yoshihiro Makino -
South Korea's National Intelligence Service briefed the National Assembly's intelligence committee on Sept. 1. Kim Ju Ae, it said, is effectively at the stage...
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Latest North Korea News

North Korean sellers peddle goods on the fringes of a market in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province, in October 2018.

North Korea’s market rice prices fall as yuan exchange rate plunges

Seulkee Jang -
Rice prices in North Korea's informal markets, known as jangmadang, continued falling in September 2026 after a stretch of national holidays boosted grain supplies...
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Women carrying shopping bags leave a local industrial factory store in Songchon county, North Korea

North Hamgyong pushes design contest on factories that already make clothes to order

Eun Seol -
North Hamgyong province has launched a consumer goods design competition for light industry factories across the region, but the mandate is drawing complaints from...
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students, school, children, education

North Korean county officials fail to sway parents of bullied disabled student

Eun Seol -
County education officials in Musan county in North Korea's North Hamgyong province visited the home of a disabled student's family this month, joining teachers...
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drugs, drug

North Korea’s meth prices surge as drug trafficking crackdown intensifies

Seulkee Jang -
North Korea's crackdown on drug trafficking has intensified sharply this year. The tightened enforcement has shrunk methamphetamine distribution networks, and it has driven prices...
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As summer heat fades, North Korean people flock to parks in evenings

Seon Hwa -
North Korean people are flocking to parks, squares and riverbanks in the evenings now that this summer's punishing heat wave has finally broken. Many...
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North Korea Market Trends

Updated 26-09-13
Exchange Rate 1 USD → KPW
Pyongyang
69,500
Sinuiju
69,510
Hyesan
69,520
Full Exchange Rate Data →
Rice Prices KPW per kg
Pyongyang
41,100
Sinuiju
41,200
Hyesan
41,400
Full Rice Price Data →

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