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Noord -Korea is in the grip of a serious economic crisis characterized by a dramatic currency devaluation and rising pricesWith exchange rates and domestic prices more than double compared to the previous year. The government’s response is aimed at intensifying the state control, in particular through measures such as the State -run grain shops and integrated management facilities to centralize control of food distribution.
However, this urge for a larger state intervention – including stricter market regulations, legal fines for unauthorized grain sale and detailed distribution rules – seems to worsen instead of resolving the crisis. Although authorities claim that these measures will stabilize food security and prices, there is a concern that such harsh market controls actually deepen economic disruptions.
The current state of North Korean markets
According to the sources of Daily NK, the intensifying market control by the North Korean authorities is the main reason for the deteriorating economic crisis. For example, the People’s Committee of the South Pyongan Province suddenly implemented control measures at the end of last year, assertion That “Capitalist elements spread through the markets.”
While authorities cited illegal capitalist transactions that occurred in both large wholesalers, including the pyong song market and smaller markets, this seems to be just a pretext. Sources told the Dutch Championship every day that foreign currency and medicine have long been traded in North Korean markets, which raises questions about why enforcement is suddenly intensified.
Northern Korean authorities have indeed consistently maintained market controls under different pretenses. They would do that during the COVID-19 Pandemie suddenly Suspending market activities with reference to peaks in fever cases or create an atmosphere of fear by threatening “closing” until important suspects were trapped for alleged circulating South Korean media content.
As a result of all this, the markets have always been limited and the atmosphere of free trade has decreased. Because market vendors are unable to do business freely, their financial situation has deteriorated, which leads to a reduced consumption among the general population that has delivered goods. The increased government controls have effectively led to a general decrease in people’s purchasing power.
State response to the price crisis
In the midst of tightening the market restrictions and the decreasing purchasing power, the government has unveiled an ambitious strategy to tackle the in -depth economic crisis. Instead of liberalizing markets to stimulate the activity, the authorities have intensified their centralized control by a radical initiative to regulate prices in the economy.
The center of this approach is the ‘price improvement project’, announced during last year’s plenary meeting to tackle the rising food prices and currency instability of Noord -Korea. The program reflects how price and exchange rate checks have become first for the authorities, who regard price stabilization as crucial for relieving economic hardships and maintaining social order.
The government’s plan is based on three main elements: tighter state control over the gran system, reformed food distribution networks and stricter controls in foreign currency. These measures are intended to limit the sale of private food and at the same time to strengthen the distribution channels of the State – steps that the authorities regard as essential to maintain confidence in their faltering socialist food system.
Cabinet reports from regional financial offices indicate that rising food prices and exchange rates have not only threatened economic stability, but have also led to the government ignition. In response, the authorities took the striking step to treat the instability of the price as a safety threat rather than just an economic challenge. Although the government claims that “the economic crisis overcomes” through “price stability”, there are ensure that these stricter controls only deepen economic distortions and push real solutions further away.
North -Korea’s grain management ambitions
This pattern of sharpening market controls has a culminated in an ambitious government intervention – an extensive plan to regulate the grain trade. Although earlier market restrictions were often justified by temporary crises or safety problems, the new approach to the grain management regime is a systematic attempt to permanently restructure the food distribution system of Noord -Korea.
At the center of this effort is a growing network of Graan shops run by the StateNational operating since 2021 – A clear step to bring previously independent grain sales and distribution under the direct supervision of the state.
Building on the basis of these grain shops, the government announced Plans for an “integrated grain management facility” during last year’s plenary meeting. This ambitious expansion is intended to centralize any aspect of grain handling – from production to distribution and allocation – under a single management system. The shift from local to centralized control reflects the government’s vision of food distribution as a powerful tool for maintaining social control.
The implementation of this system is already underway, with new grain management facilities built Throughout the country, especially in important agricultural areas and distribution hubs. A large storage facility was completed in Pyongsong last January and a directive in August established plans to further centralize the grain distribution from the countryside to population centers where this is most necessary.
Noord -Korea threats the punishment for secret sales
To enforce this new centralized distribution system, the regime went beyond physical infrastructure to set up an extensive legal framework. Although the construction of facilities demonstrates the practical implementation of the policy, newly established regulations reveal how authorities intend to maintain strict control over any aspect of the grain distribution – supported by the threat of serious fines.
In particular, the government has introduced important new regulations via Articles 43-44 of the Revised grain law of 2022. Article 43 establishes a rigid framework for food distribution, which establishes that supplies are granted on the basis of labor difficulties, position and target, with strict prohibitions against deviating or duplication of these set quantities and types. Article 44 also requires that the sale of sales section must be processed and sold to consumers according to specific periodic and monthly schemes.
The 2022 law marks a dramatic expansion of state control over the food supply of Noord -Korea. While the 2021 version only monitors the delivery goals, the new law creates an extensive system for each aspect of food distribution, from supply chains to sales schedules. Through Article 45, for which granular points of sale must be “implementing grain purchase and sales company as prescribed”, the government seems to give these points of sale some autonomy while maintaining tight control over surplus management.
The struggles of the government to achieve its economic goals have brought uncertainty about its latest policy direction. During last year’s plenary meeting, the brief mention of “Economic Management Policy” Increased red flags for experts Such as Choi Ji-Young from the Korea Institute for National Unification. Despite the implementation of specific fines – including fines, confiscation and business suspensions – the government does not seem to arise in its goals for centralized control of the grain offer of Noord -Korea. As an addition to these challenges, leadership changes have introduced new questions about the Poor Vooruit.
Unclear future
In particular, to ask When asked whether the new Prime Minister can effectively tackle the complex economic challenges of Noord -Korea. Some civil servants have expressed doubts about the economic references of Pak Thae Song, and note that his career has been primarily in party bureaucracy. His earlier roles – main secretary of the South Pyongan Provincial Party Committee, chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, director of party propaganda and agitation, and party secretary for Science and Education, while he serves as chairman of the National Space Science and Technology Committee Limits -On economic experience.
According to Daily NK reports, North Korean burgers have a simple request: They want the government to get hold of its grip on markets. Many believe that the economy would naturally improve if they could just do business with fewer restrictions, longer market hours and less frequent alignment. Their documents demand a meaningful conclusion: over regulation, not insufficient state control, is central to their economic struggle. While the new Prime Minister took office, he could think that what people want the most is economic policy that makes greater flexibility possible to relieve their daily hardships.