Tag: finance
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...
N. Korean military unit cracks down on soldiers using private barbers
Units of the 25th Brigade of the North Korean border guard based in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, have recently begun cracking down harder on its...
N. Koreans struggle to obtain wind blockers as winter approaches
Many households in North Korea’s Ryanggang province — where winter temperatures plummet to close to 30 degrees Celsius below freezing — lack wind blockers...
North Korean soldier beaten to death for failing to collect fuel
A North Korean soldier with the Eighth General Bureau, which is thought to be responsible for construction projects, was fatally beaten by his superiors...
