Economy

Topics in the Economy category of the knowledge base on the country north korea.

| Topic | Description | |——-|————-| | Economic System and Famine | The DPRK’s centrally planned economy and the catastrophic 1994–1998 famine (the “Arduous March”) that killed hundreds of thousands and spurred informal markets. | | Foreign Trade and Economic Sanctions | The DPRK’s external trade, dependence on China and Russia, and the escalating UN and US sanctions regime that has squeezed the economy since the 1990s. | | Energy Crisis and Electricity Shortage | The severe energy crisis that began with the 1991 collapse of Soviet oil supply — precipitating the famine — and the chronic electricity shortage that still leaves the country dark today. | | Mining and Resource Extraction | The DPRK’s mineral wealth (coal, iron, magnesite, rare earths, uranium) and its extraction by military and forced labor as a hard-currency lifeline and sanctions target. | | Agriculture and Food Security | The state-controlled collective-farm system and chronic food insecurity — planned-economy mismanagement, the 1994–1998 famine, persistent malnutrition, and the jangmadang markets as a survival mechanism. |