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....
Read more
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...
Read more
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...
Read more
Load more

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...
Read more
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...
Read more
Pyongyang Housing real estate prices, upper floors

Pyongyang tenants haul water up dark stairwells

Yoon HyeSeong -
A worsening Pyongyang power shortage has left the capital’s new high-rises without elevators or running water in fall 2026. Rather than fixing the problem,...
Read more
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,...
Read more
Exterior of the power transmission and distribution department building in Rason, North Korea

Electricity clout fuels feud over lucrative jobs in North Korea

Eun Seol -
Wives of power officials in North Korea’s Ryanggang province are fighting over lucrative artificial meat jobs in 2026, with their husbands’ rank in the...
Read more

Stay Informed

North Korea, delivered to your inbox every week.

Get exclusive reporting from inside the DPRK sent directly to you — straight from Daily NK's in-country source network.

►

Published every week — concise, reliable, on time

►

Reporting unavailable from any other outlet

►

Trusted by journalists, researchers, and policymakers worldwide

Subscribe Free

No spam • Unsubscribe anytime

About Our Sources

Reporting from inside North Korea

Daily NK has maintained a network of correspondents inside the DPRK since 2004. Our sources report at personal risk — providing ground-level information unavailable from any other outlet.

►

Reporting since 2004 — over two decades of in-country coverage

►

Sources in Pyongyang, Sinuiju, Hyesan and beyond

►

All reporting verified against multiple independent sources

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 →

Analyst Spotlight

Expert analysis on North Korea