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farming remains one of the regime’s most persistent vulnerabilities, with chronic food insecurity rooted in poor soil, outdated infrastructure, ideological constraints on agricultural reform, and the ongoing tension between collective farming and the individual responsibility system.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
N. Korean soldiers bribe commanders for coveted ‘work brigade’ assignments
Many North Korean soldiers are locked in fierce competition for coveted "work brigade" assignments, where military oversight is significantly more relaxed than standard barracks...
Satellites show North Korean wheat, barley cultivation up 22% under Kim’s...
Since 2021, when Kim Jong Un ordered a shift in grain production to address food shortages, North Korea has been promoting wheat and barley...
Hunger and disillusion: N. Korean farm workers face harsh spring reality
North Korean farm workers barely surviving the annual "barley hump" — the spring food shortage period — are increasingly resentful of farm officials who...
Empty wallets: North Korean farmers struggle as loan sources dry up
North Korean agricultural officials are scrambling to secure funding for farming supplies as the growing season gets into full swing. However, wealthy North Koreans...
N. Korean farmers lack basic resources to implement potato farming method
North Korea is heavily promoting the "Samjiyon-style potato farming method" to increase potato production nationwide, but farmers report severe shortages of essential resources including...
Pyongyang officials told to lead rice-planting mobilization as May campaign approaches
Pyongyang officials have been instructed to lead upcoming rural support mobilizations as North Korea prepares for rice-planting season.
The Pyongyang Party Committee's Propaganda and Agitation...
N. Korean grain prices surge to near-record levels after brief dip
North Korean grain prices are climbing again after a brief lull earlier this month, according to market data.
Rice sold for 9,500 North Korean won...
Hunger trumps trees: N. Koreans uproot state reforestation for food crops
As North Korea's spring tree-planting season reaches its peak, residents in Ryanggang province are removing newly planted trees to grow food crops instead. This...
Spring greens season draws N. Koreans to mountains as schools empty
North Koreans are flocking to fields and mountains as the spring greens season gets into full swing. In the mountainous regions of South Pyongan...
N. Koreans risk forest fires with traditional slash-and-burn farming
People in mountainous areas of North Pyongan province are clearing agricultural land by burning vegetation, significantly increasing the risk of forest fires.
A source in...
