N. Korean rice prices stabilize at record highs
North Korean rice prices have settled around 12,000 won per kilogram after breaking the 10,000 won barrier for the first time on record. Meanwhile,...
N. Korean students celebrate special meal after unpaid farmwork
Students mobilized to farms in North Pyongan province's Yomju county have returned home after completing rice planting season. Unlike previous years, work team and...
N. Korean workers turn to day labor for quick cash
Day labor markets have boomed across North Korea as farming season drives up demand for workers at collective farms and various agency support farms.
A...
N. Korea sends people to labor camps during rice-planting travel ban
North Korean authorities imposed strict travel controls during last month's rice-planting mobilization, with numerous people sent to labor camps after being caught traveling without...
N. Korea orders power usage report as electric heaters overload grid
North Korea has ordered power grid officials in North Hwanghae province to report on electricity distribution during rice planting season, apparently to verify that...
N. Korea restricts truck hours during rice planting, hurting livelihoods
Truck operating hours have been severely restricted during North Korea's nationwide mobilization to help with rice planting, hitting people's livelihoods hard.
A source in South...
N. Korea to evaluate farm managers based on crop production results
North Korea is planning to evaluate farm managers based on how well their operations perform as part of an effort to boost agricultural production.
"Party...
Reality check: N. Korea’s agricultural mechanization vs. rising hand tool costs
Despite North Korea's repeated emphasis on agricultural mechanization, farmers continue to depend on basic hand tools like shovels, hoes, pickaxes and sickles. With rice...
Well-connected students use propaganda troupes to dodge N. Korean farm labor
With rice transplanting season underway at farms across North Korea, party committees at Pyongyang universities have been enrolling well-connected students in mobile artistic propaganda...
Pay to stay: N. Korean schools sell farmwork exemptions to students
North Korean schools are openly charging fees to excuse students from farmwork as the country's annual rice transplantation begins.
According to a source in South...
