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farming remains one of the regime’s most persistent vulnerabilities, with chronic food insecurity rooted in poor soil, outdated infrastructure, ideological constraints on agricultural reform, and the ongoing tension between collective farming and the individual responsibility system.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. 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...
N. Pyongan cuts residential power for farming, still demands payment
North Pyongan province announced it will temporarily cut electricity to households for two months to supply more power to farms during the busy agricultural...
Spring hunger forces N. Korean rural families to borrow grain at...
The number of "food-poor families" has recently grown as North Korea's spring hunger season intensifies, worsening the already severe seasonal food shortages.
"The number of...
N. Korean parents struggle with hefty school decoration fees as new...
As North Korean schools prepare for the new academic year starting April 1, parents are frustrated by school decoration fees their children are expected...
N. Korean officials show unprecedented effort during ‘Friday labor’ sessions
The behavior of North Korean officials has noticeably shifted since authorities began emphasizing the importance of "Friday labor" at central government agencies.
"Before the March...
Empty exhibitions: N. Korea’s growing crackdown on policy formalism
Recent reports indicate that punishments are being intensified across North Korean society for issues of formalism in implementing Workers' Party policies.
According to a source...
Empty promises, empty stomaches: The plight of N. Korean farmers under...
North Korean farmers are growing increasingly resentful as the ruling party's interference in their autonomy reaches new extremes. While authorities boast of an unprecedented...
Kim Jong Un prohibits unofficial fees after model farmers barred from...
The party committee of Ryongchon county in North Pyongan province recently held an executive council meeting to address an order directly from Kim Jong...
“More farmers than fighters”: How agricultural work is undermining N. Korea’s...
There are concerns that North Korean soldiers' fighting strength and discipline are weakening as they spend more time farming than training.
A military source told...
Grain prices surge as N. Korea enters annual spring food shortage
Grain prices across North Korean markets have begun climbing since mid-February, reversing the downward trend observed since December. With the arrival of the annual...
