{"id":324189,"date":"2026-04-16T18:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T09:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=324189"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:43:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T06:43:52","slug":"north-korea-exchange-rate-record-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-exchange-rate-record-high\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea&#8217;s black market dollar rate breaks all-time record as China trade expands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">North Korea&#8217;s black market exchange rate for the U.S. dollar broke <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/market-trends-exchange-rate\/\">70,000 North Korean won<\/a> for the first time in recorded history in April 2026, surging nearly 30% in just two weeks as expanding China trade drove up foreign currency demand and sent prices for food, fuel, and imported goods sharply higher across the country&#8217;s informal markets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Daily NK&#8217;s regular survey of North Korean market prices found that as of April 12, the won-dollar rate in Pyongyang&#8217;s jangmadang (informal markets that operate outside the state distribution system) had reached 70,100 North Korean won, up 29.3% from 54,200 North Korean won recorded on March 29. Markets in Sinuiju in North Pyongan province and Hyesan in Ryanggang province also crossed the 70,000-won threshold. Daily NK has tracked North Korean market prices since 2009, and this is the first time the dollar rate has exceeded that level.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The won-yuan rate also rose sharply, though by a smaller margin. As of April 12, the won-yuan rate in Sinuiju and Hyesan stood at 8,530 North Korean won and 8,550 North Korean won respectively, up roughly 12.4% and 12.5% from two weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<h2 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>Expanding China trade fuels dollar demand<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Analysts point to a surge in North Korea-China trade activity as the primary driver of the exchange rate spike. North Korea has been actively courting Chinese investment in recent months. Daily NK previously reported that the Ministry of External Economic Affairs has been using a joint North Korea-China trading company called the Central Materials Exchange to develop a large commercial complex spanning approximately 68,000 square meters in Pyongyang&#8217;s Hwasong district, alongside a parallel effort to build supporting international logistics infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">As signs of accelerating economic cooperation with China have multiplied, North Korean trading institutions, trade workers, and <em>donju<\/em> (North Korea&#8217;s wealthy private entrepreneurs) have all been moving to acquire foreign currency. Real demand for Chinese yuan needed to settle cross-border transactions has combined with anticipatory buying, pushing exchange rates up rapidly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The currency shock has transmitted directly to import prices. Gasoline and diesel, both largely imported, traded in Pyongyang&#8217;s markets at 77,700 North Korean won and 72,600 North Korean won per kilogram as of April 12, up 30.2% and 25.6% respectively from March 29 prices of 59,700 North Korean won and 57,800 North Korean won per kilogram. The fuel price increases outpaced the exchange rate rise, a reflection of rising global oil prices linked to instability in the Middle East, which has increased North Korea&#8217;s import costs and reduced available supply volumes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Imported foodstuffs tracked a similar trajectory. Cooking oil and sugar each jumped roughly 25% and 29% over the same two-week period. As of April 12, one kilogram of cooking oil in a Pyongyang market sold for 84,100 North Korean won and one kilogram of sugar for 83,900 North Korean won.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Domestically produced staples also climbed to record highs. Rice reached 31,300 North Korean won per kilogram in Pyongyang as of April 12, up 23.7% from 25,300 North Korean won on March 29. Markets in Sinuiju and Hyesan also recorded rice prices above 31,000 North Korean won per kilogram. Corn rose to 9,700 North Korean won per kilogram in Pyongyang, a gain of 11.5% over the same period, though the pace of increase remained below that of rice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Analysts attribute the food price surge to a combination of factors: seasonal production lows, depleted grain stockpiles, and a contraction in imported food supply as the weaker won raises the effective cost of bringing goods in from China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20260416-1\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<!-- Daily NK \u2014 A Note to Readers \u2014 End of Article Pattern -->\n<div style=\"background:#1a1a1a;border-top:3px solid #cc0000;padding:0;margin-top:32px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;\">\n  <div style=\"padding:20px 24px 24px;\">\n\n    <!-- Header row -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;margin-bottom:14px;\">\n      <span style=\"background:#cc0000;color:#fff;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:9px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:3px 8px;flex-shrink:0;\">A Note to Readers<\/span>\n      <div style=\"flex:1;height:1px;background:#333;\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Intro line -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:15px;color:#fff;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.4;margin:0 0 12px;\">Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n\n    <!-- Body -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:13px;color:#bbb;line-height:1.75;margin:0 0 16px;\">\n      Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":41618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,645],"tags":[759,930,1007,2611,274,710,735],"class_list":["post-324189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-economy","tag-china","tag-foreign-currency","tag-imports","tag-jangmadang","tag-pyongyang","tag-food-shortages","tag-trade"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North Korea exchange rate hits all-time high<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"North Korea&#039;s black market dollar rate broke 70,000 won for the first time in April 2026, sending food and fuel prices to record highs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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