Lights of North Korea

[Anchor Lead]

Satellite images tell us that whenever sanctions are placed on North Korea, the lights grow brighter in Pyongyang while provincial regions become darker. Let’s take a look at this stark contrast.

[Pkg]

This is a satellite image of the Korean Peninsula taken in 2014. Whereas bright lights shine in South Korea even in the middle of the night, only Pyongyang is lit up North of the 38th parallel. The nighttime brightness of various regions in North Korea was analyzed based on data from the U.S. military meteorological satellite system compiled between 1992 and 2013. Results show that the difference in nighttime lighting between Pyongyang and other provincial regions increased by 5.7% whenever the UN imposed sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile development.

[Soundbite] Lee Yong-suk(Researcher, SK Center Fellow at Stanford Univ.) : "We can see that in considering distribution of limited resources, they are preferentially redistributed to centers of power such as Pyongyang."

It was also found that the relative brightness increased in regions that border China or that are economically active due to industries such as manufacturing and mining. Experts point out that with stronger sanctions, the North Korean regime rations limited resources such as electricity first to the privileged, making the quality of life for residents in other regions that much worse.