Tag: finance
North Korea’s market rice prices fall as yuan exchange rate plunges
Rice prices in North Korea's informal markets, known as jangmadang, continued falling in September 2026 after a stretch of national holidays boosted grain supplies...
North Korea’s smartphone payments reveal convenience and control
Electronic payment through smartphones is spreading rapidly across North Korea, with cash transactions increasingly giving way to digital payments in Pyongyang and other major...
North Korea money-transfer brokers make a comeback amid bank distrust
Private money-transfer brokers are reviving in North Korea after a period of suppression aimed at pushing people toward banks. The distrust toward banks that...
North Korea inspects banks over loan collusion
North Korean authorities have launched sweeping inspections of bank loan practices in 2026. The goal is to root out possible collusion between banks and...
Zeekr electric vehicles and luxury used cars on display as sales...
North Korean authorities launched a large-scale car exhibition in Pyongyang in June 2026 while simultaneously ordering the Ministry of Social Security to covertly investigate...
High school students in North Korea rack up bank debt via...
North Korean high school students are taking out bank loans through their mobile phones without their parents' knowledge, spending the money on smartphone games...
North Korea’s mobile phone insurance scheme draws anger as claims routinely...
North Korea's state-run mobile phone insurance program promises to reimburse policyholders for theft and technical failures, but the benefits rarely materialize in practice, with...
North Korean youth spend $345 on power-symbol coats worn by security...
Young North Koreans are shelling out $345 to copy a look that signals power: "gaeteol-shuba," the dog-fur padded coats worn by soldiers, state security...
N. Korean defectors in China lose savings to trusted individuals who...
Female defectors working part-time to support families back home have no recourse when Chinese nationals refuse to return money, unable to use banks or...
Fur and famine: N. Korea’s elite flout luxury bans as workers...
North Korea’s elite women are flaunting luxury fur coats worth millions of won—enough to buy a provincial home or feed a family for years—while...
