North Korea Briefs: Shedding light on the DPRK

Published by the Institute for Far Eastern Studies

Issues in this Series

DPRK Prices, Exchange Rate Skyrocket after Shelling

Kim Jong Il Visits 148 Sites in 2010 - Focuses on Economy after Yeonpyeong Shelling

DPRK-PRC Trade Up 26.7 Percent

Monthly Recap: November, 2010

New Pyongyang Management Law Aims at Modernization

DPRK Strengthens Control Mechanisms with Revised Law on the People's Economy

6 New Industrial Parks worth 44 Billion Won for Construction Industry

DPRK Builds Hundreds of Cell Towers, Expands Distance Education Opportunities

DPRK Cabinet Discusses 4th Quarter Projects as Chinese Participation Grows in the Pyongyang International Trade Fair

DPRK Restricts Private Car Use, Rattles Markets

3.6% of South-North Cooperation Fund Spent in 2010

Investors in DPRK Take Huge Hits; Interest in FDI Plummets

Special Rations Issued for 10/10 Party Anniversary

Inter-Korean Trade up 51.3% in First Half of 2010

DPRK Newspaper Stresses Prudence of 'Juche Economy'

South Korea Sends Hundreds of New Workers to Kaesong

DPRK Residents Paying More Taxes Since Currency Reform

North Korea's Dependence on Foreign Currency Increases

Kaesong Day Care Center Opened, Minimum Wage Raised

ROK Religious Groups Push for Government Food Aid to the North

DPRK Farm Life Worsens on Market Price Instability

First Half of 2010 Sees Record Inter-Korean Trade

Kim Jong Il on an Economic On-site Instruction Blitz

Regular Food Rations not provided as Prices Soar and Food Shortages Grow in DPRK

North Korea Expanding Farming Area

Hikes in Rice Prices and Exchange Rates again Shake DPRK Markets

First Real Estate Auction Held in Kaesong Industrial Complex

DPRK-PRC Trade up 18.1% from January to May, 2010

DPRK Shakes up Elite in Orer to Meet 2012 'Strong and Prosperous' Goal

Increased Instability After Currency Revaluation in North Korea

'Private' Real Estate Rentals Approved, DPRK Real Estate Management law Enacted

DPRK Food Prices Unstable as Lean Season Approaches

North Korean Foreign Trade Down 10.5% in 2009

DPRK-PRC Summit and the Outlook for Bilateral Economic Cooperation

DPRK Economist: Currency Reform Caused Instability

Monthly Recap: April 2010

DPRK Authorities Slash all Prices by 99 Percent

DPRK Legal Efforts to Strengthen Planned Economy Follow Currency Reforms

Chinese Tours to North Korea Growing

Monthly Recap: March

Foreign Exchange and Smuggling Again Prevalent in North Korea

Economy Stabilizes Before Supreme People's Assembly Meeting

DPRK Seeks Foreign Capital Through Rajin Port Development

DPRK Revises Law on Rason Zone and Enacts Law on Coal to Attract Foreign Investment

DPRK Ban on Yuan Keeps Driving Exchange Rate Higher

Monthly Recap: February

DPRK Trade Hits Record High in 2008

DPRK Suggests KIC Business Withdrawal

DPRK Claims to Support Kaesong After Nuke Test

DPRK Pride in the Ryugyong Hotel Growing

2009 Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund Largely Untouched

Monthly Recap: April

DPRK Orders Food Shortage Countermeasures

North Koreans Subject to Harsher Market Controls

DPRK Launches Rocket to Improve the Economy

Kaesong Detention and the Protection of ROK Workers

DPRK Cell Phone Subscribers Top 20,000--Costs, Services Detailed

DPRK Bans Goods From Markets

DPRK Sets 2009 Budget at 3.45 Billion USD

Monthly Recap: March

DPRK Preparing for Spring Fertilizer Shortages

Satellites and Salads as the DPRK Moves Toward Construction of a Strong and Powerful Nation

Number of DPRK Mobile Phone Subscribers Jumps

DPRK Trade Deficit with China Nears 1.3 Billion USD

DPRK Steps up Calls to Resolve Food Shortages Unassisted in the New Year

Celebratory Rations Issued for Kim Jong Il's Birthday

DPRK Outlines Region-Specific Economic Growth Plans

Monthly Recap: February

DPRK Prepares to Launch 3rd Kim Jong Il Government

DPRK Won Exchange Rate Continues to Climb

Rice Prices Plummet in North Korea

DPRK Establishing Yearly Economic Development Plans

DPRK Bans South Korean, Overseas Goods from Markets

DPRK Announces Plan to Solve Clothing Shortage

Kim Jong Il: Only Four Years Away from Prosperous, Powerful Nation

Monthly Recap: December

DPRK Miltary Authorities Make a 2-Day Visit to Kaesong Industrial Complex

Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Office Closes After 3 Years; Cross-Border Cooperation Withering

DPRK Announces Worker Restrictions for KIC

DPRK Reemphasizes Priority Development of National Defense Industries

Monthly Recap: November

DPRK Takes Measures to Restrict Market Trading

DPRK Crackdown, Restrictive Measures on 1st Phase of KIC

DPRK Authorities Reclaim Plots for Tree Planting

Bicycle Business Growing in North Korea

Pyongyang Remodeling Underway

Global Financial Crisis Hits DPRK Economy by Way of China

DPRK Adopts Social Security Law

DPRK Stressing Unaided Resolution to Food Crisis

Joint Branding Planned for Kaesong Industries

ROK '09 Budget Includes DPRK Rice, Fertilizer

DPRK Steps Up Efforts to Improve Power Plants

Monthly Recap: September

DPRK Expecting Bumper Crop this Fall

DPRK Journal Stresses Food Provision Reform

'Chosun International Development Trust Company' Handling Overseas Business for DPRK

Trouble Again in the DPRK's Chungjin Market

Pyongyang Publicizes Economic Situation on 60th Anniversary of the DPRK

Private Sector Real Estate Activity Booming in the DPRK

Monthly Recap: August

Kim Jong Il Visits Pig, Goat Farms

DPRK-PRC Trade Shoots Up 25 Percent

DPRK Food Production Seen as a Political Issue

Prices, Deaths Rise as Grain Stores Run Low

DPRK Tightening the Reigns In Order to Secure Public Finance

Monthly Recap: July

Kim Jong Il Steps up Economic Activities

DPRK Bolsters Social Security Laws

DPRK Cabinet Adopts "Border Region Management Provision"

DPRK Chamber of Commerce Provision Adopted

Recent Rice Prices Skyrocket in DPRK

Price of DPRK Rice Drops

Monthly Recap: June

DPRK Economy: Two Straight Years of Negative Growth

DPRK Embraces Comparative Advantage to Strengthen Foreign Economic Relations

Recent Rice Prices Skyrocket in DPRK

Monthly Recap: May

DPRK Military Exercises Give Way to Farming

South Korea to Ease Regulations on DPRK Ventures

Orascom and DPRK to Complete Ryugyong Hotel Construction

DPRK Holds its Largest Ever Pyongyang International Product Exhibition

Chinese Businesses Want DPRK Labor

Monthly Recap: April

DPRK Rejects New ROK President's 'Denuclearize-Open-3000' Plan

DPRK Seeks Solutions for Sharp Increase in Food Shortages

DPRK Eyes Potatoes as Answer to Food Shortages

Market Activity Flourishes in the DPRK

DPRK Budget Expenditures Grow 2.5% This Year

Scrap Metal Smuggling Rampant in North Korea

DPRK Coal Briquette Export Prices Jump this Year

Monthly Recap: March

DPRK Evicts South Koreans from Kaesong Industrial Complex

DPRK Promotes Multifaceted Trade to Boost Exports

Women and Police Clash in DPRK Markets

DPRK Citizens Turn to Batteries, Bicycles to Solve Energy Shortages

World Oil and Grain Prices up, DPRK Feels the Pinch

DPRK Demanding 100USD Residence Fee at Kaesong Industrial Complex

Energy Shortages Lead to Fall in Appliance Sales in DPRK State-Run Stores

Monthly Recap: January

ROK Businesses Optimistic About Inter-Korean Cooperation after Nuke Resolution

Large Scale Power Plant to Begin Operations on Ryesong River

DPRK Light Industrial Production Grows with ROK Material Aid

DPRK Crackdown on Trading Offices Finds Corruption

Kim Jong Il Site Visits Indicate DPRK's Focus on Economy

DPRK's Largest Copper Mine Flooded with Difficulties

Duplicity in the North Korean Foreign Currency Management System

DPRK Crude Petroleum Imports Bottom Out in 2006

2007 Biggest Year yet for Inter-Korean Exchange, at 1.79 Billion USD

DPRK New Years Editorial Lacks New Economic Development Vision

DPRK Holds Annual Lottery for Government Bond Repayments

Wireless Comms, Internet in Kaesong Industrial Complex and Kumang Mountain Tourist Resort

Monthly Recap: December

North Korea Aiming to Become a Strong and Prosperous Country by 2012

State of the Market in the DPRK

Monthly Recap: November

DPRK Unification Front Envoy Tours ROK Industries

First Underground DPRK Journal Launched