North Korea farming remains one of the regime’s most persistent vulnerabilities, with chronic food insecurity rooted in poor soil, outdated infrastructure, ideological constraints on agricultural reform, and the ongoing tension between collective farming and the individual responsibility system. Daily NK covers North Korea farming through reports on harvest conditions, seasonal mobilizations, fertilizer and equipment shortages, agricultural policy directives from Pyongyang, and the ground-level reality facing farmers across the country’s provinces. Our in-country sources provide some of the most detailed and timely reporting on North Korea’s agricultural situation available in English.
Tag: farming
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...
Dried seafood sales surge as N. Korean families prepare for mobilization...
Demand for food items suitable for packed lunch side dishes has skyrocketed recently in Sinuiju amid construction mobilizations and the start of rice planting...
N. Korean TV drama criticizing farm officials sparks mixed reactions among...
A recent North Korean TV drama "A New Spring in the Field of Manchurian Cranes" has become a hit by criticizing the exaggerations and...
N. Korea’s west coast wheat and barley crops face severe stunting...
Wheat and barley crops growing on North Korea's west coast are severely stunted.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK that winter wheat...
Rice and corn prices drop in North Korea
Grain prices across North Korean markets have recently declined following weeks of steady increases. The drop coincides with increased cross-border imports and the beginning...
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...
N. Korea mobilizes all resources for rice planting season amid food...
North Korea is ordering all party organizations to provide workers and resources during rice planting season as part of a determined effort to boost...
N. Korean parents spend rice money on uniforms as state-supplied clothing...
North Korean middle and high school students are increasingly buying fabric at markets to make custom uniforms because the quality of state-supplied uniforms is...
Exposing reality: North Korea’s surprising new rural drama
North Korea has unveiled its first new television drama in two years, surprisingly featuring candid portrayals of official corruption and rural discontent. "A New...
Drought alert: N. Korean reservoirs shrink as rice planting season looms
According to meteorological forecasts, the Korean Peninsula's northern regions may experience temporary drought and unseasonably cold temperatures this spring due to La Niña effects....




















