{"id":48756,"date":"2021-06-22T14:16:40","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T05:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=48756"},"modified":"2021-06-22T14:18:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T05:18:58","slug":"north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Commodity prices in some regions of North Korea are skyrocketing while the country\u2019s currency exchange rates continue to plummet. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed during a recent Central Committee plenary session that North Korea\u2019s economy had improved \u201coverall\u201d in the first half of the year, but reports from Daily NK sources in the country suggest that not all is well in the economy.<\/p>\n<p>A Daily NK investigation found that the KPW-USD exchange rate in Pyongyang was KPW 4,900 to the dollar on June 16. This is an 18.2% fall from the exchange rate of KPW 5,990 to the dollar on June 8.<\/p>\n<p>Exchange rates are also plummeting in other major North Korean cities, including Sinuiju (KPW 5,000 to the dollar) and Hyesan (KPW 4,850 to the dollar) as of June 16. The exchange rates in these cities have fallen by 15% or more compared to June 8.<\/p>\n<p>The KPW-RMB exchange rate is also falling. Daily NK found that on June 16 Pyongyang\u2019s KPW-RMB exchange rate was KPW 560 against the RMB, with Sinuiju and Hyesan recording KPW 555 and RMB 558, respectively, against the RMB. Again, the exchange rates in these cities have fallen 15-19% compared to June 8.<\/p>\n<p>All in all, North Korea\u2019s KPW-USD and KPW-RMB exchange rates have fallen 15-20% in the space of around a week.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, North Korean authorities do not appear to have implemented any particular measures that would impact the country&#8217;s foreign exchange rates.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple Daily NK sources in the country have confirmed that the authorities have not tried to control the popular use of dollars and yuan, nor have they required the use of North Korean won at shops.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40825\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40825\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-40825 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"commodity prices broker\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/2019-\ubd81\ub18d\ucd0c_3-\uc0b4\ub9bc\uc9d1-\uc21c\ucc9c-\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9-\uc7a5\uc0ac\uafbc-\uc790\uc804\uac70-\uc804\uc790-\uc800\uc6b8.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40825\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">North Korean merchants sell goods on the fringes of a market in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province in October 2018. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>North Korean organizations and individuals, previously expectant of the restart of China-North Korea trade, are selling off their dollars and yuan. This development is having a major impact on the fall in the exchange rates.<\/p>\n<p>North Korean government agencies and individuals who received new <em>waku<\/em> (trade certificates) last month bought up foreign currency under the belief that cross-border trade would soon restart. North Korean authorities continue to restrict trade, however, making their foreign currency reserves useless. They are now selling off what foreign currency they have in their possession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe [North Korean] authorities may have implemented policies to prevent the use of foreign currency or gave a signal to individuals and [trade-related] agencies that it is better to sell off their foreign currency reserves than to hold on to them,\u201d Kim Byung-yeon, a professor in the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, told Daily NK yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, North Korean authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/us-dollar-chinese-reminbi-plummet-against-north-korean-won-once-again\/\">handed down an order on June 3<\/a> saying that trade agencies would be unable to participate in trade activities unless they receive permission from the Workers\u2019 Party. The authorities also said that if a trade agency violates this rule and imports or exports goods, they will be considered to have engaged in \u201csmuggling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the authorities still delaying the restart in cross-border trade, people who borrowed funds for trade purposes appear to be \u201cdumping\u201d their foreign currency reserves to prevent financial losses that could grow larger the more they wait.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, members of the <em>donju<\/em>, North Korea\u2019s wealthy entrepreneurial class, and high-level cadres who already have considerable capital at their disposal, consider the plummeting exchange rates a good time to buy up foreign currency. They are taking efforts to buy up what they can.<\/p>\n<p>These individuals think that the current situation is a perfect time to accumulate more foreign currency under the belief that 1) trade will restart at some point, even if the border remains closed for the foreseeable future; and 2) that exchange rates will inevitably continue to rise.<\/p>\n<p>Most people working in North Korea\u2019s trade sector are selling off their foreign currency reserves, but some members of the country\u2019s elite are buying up foreign currency. This suggests that \u2013 rather than the exchange rates plummeting completely &#8211; the current exchange rate situation could very well continue as is, or that there will be a slight rise in exchange rates.<\/p>\n<p>North Korea\u2019s economy, however, is facing an unpredictable and unstable situation given that exchange rates are falling despite lackluster economic growth, and because commodity prices are soaring while exchange rates are plummeting.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_41618\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41618\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-41618 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Street market in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province rice sellers dollar rate\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/6-min.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-41618\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In this undated photograph, North Koreans are seen peddling goods at a street market in Hyesan, Yanggang Province. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Corn and rice prices in some of the country\u2019s major cities, including Pyongyang, have fallen after local residents received government rations. However, Daily NK has confirmed that the price of one kilogram of rice is going for more than KPW 10,000 in cities near the Sino-North Korean border and in the interior of the country.<\/p>\n<p>According to a Daily NK source, one kilogram of rice in Musan and Yonsa, two areas in North Hamgyong Province, was selling for KPW 15,000 on June 20. Business people at \u201cgrasshopper markets\u201d (small-scale unofficial markets) and street markets have insufficient stock to sell, so sellers are reportedly setting prices at their own discretion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe falling of exchange rates, coupled with the skyrocketing of commodity prices in some markets, suggests signs of chaos in the markets,\u201d Kim, the Seoul National University professor, said. \u201cIt appears that the markets are unable to encourage transactions that reduce the deviation [in prices] among [different] regions [of the country].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kim further said that, since 2010, the \u201cengine\u201d of North Korea\u2019s economy has been trade and the markets, but that North Korean authorities are \u201cpreventing the markets from doing their proper function by delaying the restart of trade under the pretext of [stopping] COVID-19.\u201d Moreover, he noted that \u201cthe authorities could stabilize prices artificially by distributing rations to specific places, but there is a high likelihood that [this] could gradually increase regional deviation [in prices],\u201d making it a less-than-desirable option for the government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-post-header\"><em>Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"td-post-header\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%ec%9d%bc%eb%b6%80%ec%a7%80%ec%97%ad-%ec%8b%9c%ec%9e%a5%eb%ac%bc%ea%b0%80-%ed%8f%ad%eb%93%b1%ed%95%98%eb%8a%94%eb%8d%b0-%ed%99%98%ec%9c%a8%ec%9d%80-%ed%8f%ad%eb%9d%bd%e5%8c%97-%ea%b2%bd\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commodity prices in some regions of North Korea are skyrocketing while the country\u2019s currency exchange rates continue to plummet. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed during a recent Central Committee plenary session that North Korea\u2019s economy had improved \u201coverall\u201d in the first half of the year, but reports from Daily NK sources in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":37931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-economy"],"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 Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Commodity prices in some regions of North Korea are skyrocketing while the country\u2019s currency exchange rates continue to plummet. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed during a recent Central Committee plenary session that North Korea\u2019s economy had improved \u201coverall\u201d in the first half of the year, but reports from Daily NK sources in the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"488\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Seulkee Jang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Seulkee Jang\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Seulkee Jang\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/194958ce83d17408851c1d378fa83857\"},\"headline\":\"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1027,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":488,\"caption\":\"North Korean residents head to sell goods at an unofficial \\\"grasshopper\\\" market in village on the route to Pyongyang. Image: Chinese blogger with the following ID: \u9f99\u4e94*\u72fc\u4e4b\u543b\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Daily NK English\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Daily NK English\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"description\":\"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/194958ce83d17408851c1d378fa83857\",\"name\":\"Seulkee Jang\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Seulkee Jang\"},\"description\":\"Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK's full-time reporters and covers North Korean economic and diplomatic issues, including workers dispatched abroad. Jang has a M.A. in Sociology from University of North Korean Studies and a B.A. in Sociology from Yonsei University. She can be reached at skjang(at)uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/jang-seul-gi\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet","og_description":"Commodity prices in some regions of North Korea are skyrocketing while the country\u2019s currency exchange rates continue to plummet. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed during a recent Central Committee plenary session that North Korea\u2019s economy had improved \u201coverall\u201d in the first half of the year, but reports from Daily NK sources in the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":488,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Seulkee Jang","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Seulkee Jang","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/"},"author":{"name":"Seulkee Jang","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/194958ce83d17408851c1d378fa83857"},"headline":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet","datePublished":"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/"},"wordCount":1027,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg","articleSection":["News","Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/","name":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-22T05:16:40+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-22T05:18:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/\ubd81\ud55c-\uc2dc\uc7a5.jpg","width":800,"height":488,"caption":"North Korean residents head to sell goods at an unofficial \"grasshopper\" market in village on the route to Pyongyang. Image: Chinese blogger with the following ID: \u9f99\u4e94*\u72fc\u4e4b\u543b"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-commodity-prices-skyrocket-some-regions-while-currency-exchange-rates-continue-plummet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"North Korean commodity prices skyrocket in some regions while currency exchange rates continue to plummet"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Daily NK English","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","width":272,"height":90,"caption":"Daily NK English"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"description":"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.","email":"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net","telephone":"82-2-732-6998","legalName":"DailyNK","foundingDate":"2004-12-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/194958ce83d17408851c1d378fa83857","name":"Seulkee Jang","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","caption":"Seulkee Jang"},"description":"Seulkee Jang is one of Daily NK's full-time reporters and covers North Korean economic and diplomatic issues, including workers dispatched abroad. Jang has a M.A. in Sociology from University of North Korean Studies and a B.A. in Sociology from Yonsei University. She can be reached at skjang(at)uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/jang-seul-gi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48756"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48760,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48756\/revisions\/48760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}