North Korean Economy

[Anchor Lead]

North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un continues to emphasize the importance of a robust economy, despite his country's worsening economic condition. In the wake of international sanctions against North Korea, its trade volume with China halved in just one year, prompting the regime to seek hasty solutions.

[Pkg]

​Machines run endlessly to produce a wide range of products. The factory operator claims to have exceeded the production target last month. The North Korean media continue to stress self-driven recovery and encourage economic performance. But this is despite evidence proving that the North Korean economy is struggling. In fact, last year's trade volume between North Korea and China stood at 2.43 billion dollars, not even half the figure of the previous year. January's trade volume also shrank 8.4% compared to a year ago. Such economic hardship is compounded by a chronic food shortage. North Korea produced 4.95 million tons of grain last year, down 500,000 tons from 2017. In an unexpected move last month, North Korea's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kim Song admitted to the food shortages in his country and asked the international community for help.

[Soundbite] Lim Soo-ho(Institute for Nat'l Security Strategy) : "North Korea's current exports to China fell to one-tenth of what they were before the sanctions. That means the amount of foreign currency going into North Korea shrank as well."

It appears that North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un's request to remove five economic sanctions at the Hanoi Summit was intended to solve these pressing economic issues. North Korea is pushing a five-year economic development plan after giving up its parallel development of nuclear weapons and economy. But just as its leader Kim Jong-un said that there is no time to waste, the rapidly-deteriorating North Korean economy needs immediate solutions to keep it from spiraling out of control.