{"id":58680,"date":"2024-03-18T10:37:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T01:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=58680"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:01:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T05:01:29","slug":"north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Korea is pushing ahead with a plan to build factories in the provinces under its “20×10 regional development policy.” As part of this, the government is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for the project.<\/p>\n

“In Hyesan, neighborhood watch units have recently asked each family to pay KPW 10,000 to help purchase the materials needed to build factories in the provinces. With the authorities collecting funds at the beginning of the project, North Koreans say it’s terrible to think of the non-tax burdens they will have to shoulder in the future,” a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Mar. 15, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

“By emphasizing strict education and discipline, we must resolutely suppress and control all kinds of criminal activities, including various anti-socialist and non-socialist behaviors and forces, bureaucratism, corruption and the imposition of non-tax burdens,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at the conclusion of the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in January 2021.<\/p>\n

While Kim himself has personally warned against non-tax burdens, the practice has continued unabated in North Korea. And according to the source, non-tax burdens are also being imposed in connection with the construction of factories in the provinces as part of the 20×10 regional development policy unveiled this year.<\/p>\n

On two occasions between Mar. 4 and 12, neighborhood watch units in Hyesan collected funds, according to the source. They collected 10,000 KRW to buy materials for the factory construction project and 8,000 KRW for soldiers mobilized to support the construction.<\/p>\n

As a result, many North Koreans have a negative impression of the provincial factory construction project, the source said.<\/p>\n

“The 20×10 regional development policy clearly has a positive goal of developing the provincial economy. But at the end of the day, the provinces are expected to be self-sufficient. And since the provinces don’t have enough money, they have to impose non-tax burdens on the people to carry out the factory construction,” the source said.<\/p>\n

The source continued: “In the end, the provincial factory construction project is tantamount to cannibalizing the people. If the government took full responsibility for the factory construction project without burdening the people, the people would welcome it. But the government hasn’t taken that approach, and the people aren’t happy about it.”<\/p>\n

According to the source, all construction projects in the country have led to non-tax burdens on ordinary people. The financial situation has worsened since the pandemic, with many families struggling just to put food on the table, but the government continues to launch more construction projects and force the public to take on more non-tax burdens. The result is growing public unrest, the source explained.<\/p>\n

“The fact that people are calling the non-tax burdens ‘terrible’ shows how bad things are. People have become so nervous that when the heads of the neighborhood watch units come around every morning to collect funds, they often get into a shouting match over something as trivial as an extra loud knock,” the source added.<\/p>\n

Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK\u2019s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Korea is pushing ahead with a plan to build factories in the provinces under its “20×10 regional development policy.” As part of this, the government is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for the project. “In Hyesan, neighborhood watch units have recently asked each family to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":48997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,1360],"tags":[140,271,273,714,724,738,743,955,1857,2077],"class_list":["post-58680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-society","tag-construction","tag-ryanggang-province","tag-corruption","tag-economy","tag-kim-jong-un","tag-hyesan","tag-factories","tag-workers","tag-non-tax-burdens","tag-regional-development"],"yoast_head":"\nN. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.\" \/>\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-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"513\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lee Chae Eun\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lee Chae Eun\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 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-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lee Chae Eun\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0\"},\"headline\":\"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"construction\",\"Ryanggang province\",\"corruption\",\"economy\",\"kim jong un\",\"hyesan\",\"factories\",\"workers\",\"non-tax burdens\",\"regional development\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/\",\"name\":\"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects - 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-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":513,\"caption\":\"A so-called \\\"Speed Poster\\\" outside a construction site in Pyongyang. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects\"}]},{\"@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\\\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0\",\"name\":\"Lee Chae Eun\",\"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\":\"Lee Chae Eun\"},\"description\":\"Lee Chae Eun covers trade and market trends, as well as the North Korean government's surveillance and control of its citizens. She also closely follows the situation of North Korean defectors living in China. Further details about her identity cannot be made public for security reasons. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/lee-chea-un\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.","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-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects","og_description":"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":513,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lee Chae Eun","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lee Chae Eun","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/"},"author":{"name":"Lee Chae Eun","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0"},"headline":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects","datePublished":"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/"},"wordCount":581,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg","keywords":["construction","Ryanggang province","corruption","economy","kim jong un","hyesan","factories","workers","non-tax burdens","regional development"],"articleSection":["News","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/","name":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects - 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-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-18T01:37:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T05:01:29+00:00","description":"North Korea is imposing non-tax burdens on the public to acquire construction materials and other resources needed for regional development.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/\ud3c9\uc591\uc2dc-\uc8fc\ud0dd-\uac74\uc124-\ud604\uc7a5-\uc18d\ubcf4\ud310.jpg","width":800,"height":513,"caption":"A so-called \"Speed Poster\" outside a construction site in Pyongyang. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-collects-funds-people-fund-regional-development-projects\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"N. Korea collects funds from people to fund regional development projects"}]},{"@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\/6c9f40b0a89c4a5354607f43756dbbe0","name":"Lee Chae Eun","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":"Lee Chae Eun"},"description":"Lee Chae Eun covers trade and market trends, as well as the North Korean government's surveillance and control of its citizens. She also closely follows the situation of North Korean defectors living in China. Further details about her identity cannot be made public for security reasons. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/lee-chea-un\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58680","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\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58680"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58682,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58680\/revisions\/58682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}