Source: Rodong Sinmun The project to redevelop Samjiyon City and its satellite towns, which came to a close at the end of 2021, is generally viewed as heralding a resurgence of rural construction in North Korea. At a plenary meeting of the Workers Party of Korea in December 2021, Kim Jong Un listed “socialist rural construction” as a priority task and set Samjiyon as an example of rural construction, saying: “It is the policy of rural construction of our Party to turn all rural villages in the country into rich and cultured socialist ideal villages at the level similar to those in Samjiyon Cit ..read more

Commercial satellite imagery of the Sinuiju border crossing shows that work has resumed on the Chinese side of the bridge, which may indicate some anticipation of the bridge’s eventual opening. Construction of this large suspension bridge connecting Dandong to Sinuiju, a $350-million project, started some 12 years ago and was finished three years later, but has yet to be opened to traffic. While there are customs and exhibition facilities on the Dandong side of the bridge, no facilities have been built on the North Korean side. In 2020, what appeared to be preparatory work for possible customs ..read more

Commercial satellite imagery shows renewed construction at Uiju Airfield, North Korea’s largest import quarantine facility located northeast of Sinuiju City. , two of the warehouses at this complex were razed, seeming to suggest the country might be moving away from quarantining imported goods. However, one of these warehouses was recently rebuilt, and the other appears near completion. While finishing this reconstruction would restore the facility to full capacity, the actual status of the North’s quarantine practices is unclear. Across the border in Dandong, China, vehicle presence at the Ch ..read more

Commercial satellite imagery indicates North Korea has begun dismantling warehouses at Uiju Airfield, the country’s largest quarantine import center for goods. The work at the airfield began almost four years to the day since the country shut its borders in response to growing cases of COVID-19. Imagery from February 15 shows signs of North Korea’s slow reopening. At Uiju Airfield, one warehouse was removed in January 2024. As of February 15, another is partially dismantled. It is unclear if this activity represents a downsizing of the facility or a first step toward its permanent closure. Fi ..read more

Overview  The Hwangju-Kindung Waterway was officially declared operational in December 2023. This new gravity-fed waterway system aims to provide a constant, uninterrupted water supply to the Hwangju-Kindung Plain for crop irrigation. It will reduce the region’s dependence on electrical pump stations that require constant electricity supply.  Completion of the Hwangju-Kindung Waterway was also noted as fulfilling North Korea’’ rural development and irrigation construction goals set at the Eighth Party Congress. Whether the new waterway will work as designed remains to be seen, as the ..read more

Less than a month after Kim Jong Un announced plans to boost regional development with the construction of 200 new factories over the next decade, the foundations for one of the first factories are already apparent. Commercial satellite imagery shows that in Yonthan (Yontan) County, North Hwanghae Province, a site that was vacant on February 4, now has the foundations laid for several buildings. The speed with which construction has begun is impressive and typical of the pace at which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has approached recent high-profile economic pr ..read more

Preface North Korea’s academic journals provide key insights into how the country is thinking about its own trajectory—what ideas are being explored, tested and supported. In some cases, they can also reflect a sort of ongoing debate within the country, among the technocrats and academics, about the pros and cons of various policies. However, these journals are published only in Korean language and can be difficult to access outside of the country. This volume is a compilation of articles researched and written by 38 North Senior Fellow Rachel Minyoung Lee and Nonresident Fellow Robert L. Carl ..read more

(Source: KCNA) Kim Jong Un ended 2023 sounding confident, both about his positioning of North Korea’s military security and the prospects for economic recovery after extended border closure period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the December meeting of the Central Committee, according to KCNA, Kim: …defined 2023 as a year of great turn and great change, lauding progress in all areas including the military, economy, science and public health despite some deviations, and presented a detailed report involving indices of the overall national economy which is clearly proving that the comprehensive ..read more

Photo: iStock, Didrick Stenersen. Homework is a source of stress for children and parents alike around the world. In North Korea, however, school tasks can be much more strenuous and far less educational. In addition to being mobilized for tasks like garbage hauling and farm work, children are often told to bring in large quantities of specific items, such as scrap metal, manure for fertilizer or rabbit pelts. Other times, teachers require parents to contribute cash for supplies like firewood or computers. However, these “social tasks” (과제, kwaje)” are part of a larger exploitative and opaque ..read more

While North Korean diets have historically been plant-heavy, there have been efforts to increase the availability of protein sources, especially since 2005. Despite these efforts, structural and practical limitations prevent major protein farming expansion, including the competition for food stocks, resources and land allocations, much less the ability to acquire seed animals and raise them. Moreover, while the number of farms has been growing, giving a sense of an increasing capacity to produce protein domestically, the actual performance of these operations is unclear from satellite imagery ..read more