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farming remains one of the regime’s most persistent vulnerabilities, with chronic food insecurity rooted in poor soil, outdated infrastructure, ideological constraints on agricultural reform, and the ongoing tension between collective farming and the individual responsibility system.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
Pyongsong orders young singles to resettle in North Korean farm villages
North Korean authorities in Pyongsong have ordered workplaces to pick unmarried young people under 30 for permanent rural placement in 2026. The forced rural...
Yuan loses ground against dollar as North Korean market prices keep...
Market prices in North Korea fell for a fourth consecutive week in late September 2026, as a fresh corn harvest and easing exchange rates...
Satellite imagery shows Sinuiju greenhouse farm far larger than North Korea...
This author's analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery shows that North Korea's Sinuiju greenhouse farm, completed in February 2026, covers at least 800 hectares, far...
North Koreans race into the hills at dawn as the acorn...
North Koreans in mountainous parts of South Pyongan province are heading into the hills before dawn this autumn to gather acorns, and the 2026...
Satellite data shows North Korea’s 2026 crop conditions on par with...
Satellite analysis of North Korea's crop conditions in August 2026 shows farmland across the country growing at almost exactly the same pace as last...
Pork prices near record 160,000 won per kilogram in North Korea
Pork has become one of the most expensive staples in North Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with prices now so high...
Satellite imagery shows reservoir drought worsening across North Korea
I analyzed satellite imagery from the European Space Agency's Sentinel satellites throughout August 2026. My goal was to assess the condition of major agricultural...
As won crashes, rural North Koreans rush to buy dollars
A growing number of people in rural North Korea are converting their spare cash into U.S. dollars or Chinese yuan, as fears grow that...
Satellite images show mine drainage nearing North Korea’s Kangnyong Bay
Satellite imagery shows yellow-tinted mine drainage spreading from North Korea's Bupo mine toward farmland and a saltworks in South Hwanghae province's Kangnyong county, with...
North Korea rice prices hit 17-year high as corn costs surge
Rice prices in North Korea climbed to their highest level since the country's 2009 currency redenomination in mid-August 2026, according to Daily NK's latest...
