-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
Market prices in North Korea have roughly doubled since last January, according to Daily NK’s latest findings. The North Korean won has seen a dramatic decline against foreign currencies, with the won-dollar exchange rate nearly tripling over the past year. The impact of this currency depreciation varies significantly based on income levels among North Koreans. Recent market surveys show the dollar trading at 22,100 won in Pyongyang as of January 3rd.
-
Dec 11, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
Top officers in the North Korean military held an emergency meeting shortly after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law at 10:23 pm on Dec. 3. In addition, North Korea apparently kept its entire military on an emergency footing for around 18 hours after Yoon’s martial law declaration. Multiple high-ranking sources in the North Korean military told Daily NK on Dec.
-
Dec 9, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
The soaring won-dollar exchange rate at marketplaces in North Korea appears to have paused, at least for the moment. But the won-yuan market exchange rate is still rising. According to Daily NK’s regular survey of North Korean market prices, the won-dollar exchange rate at Pyongyang and Hyesan, in Ryanggang province, was down slightly on Nov. 24. The survey found that a U.S. dollar was trading for 17,900 won at a marketplace in Pyongyang on Nov. 24.
-
Dec 4, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
Daily NK has recently acquired the complete text of North Korea’s Autonomous Defense and Security Act, enacted in 2022. The law’s ostensible purpose is to protect the lives and property of North Korean citizens. But its actual purpose is to increase mutual surveillance inside the populace to prevent theft and other crimes and block defections and access to foreign information.
-
Dec 2, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
North Korean food prices have hit record highs, deepening hardship across the country. According to Daily NK’s regular market survey, rice prices exceeded 8,000 North Korean won per kilogram in all major cities as of November 24. In markets across Pyongyang, Sinuiju (North Pyongan province), and Hyesan (Ryanggang province), rice sold for 8,000, 8,100, and 8,200 won respectively – representing increases of 6.7%, 7.3%, and 6.5% from the Nov. 10 survey.
-
Dec 1, 2024 | 
myemail.constantcontact.com | Kim Eun-jung |Seulkee Jang |Margus Tsahkna |Donald Kirk
Quotes of the Day:"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" – Anne Frank"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." Thomas Jefferson"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"– Martin Luther King, Jr.1. UPDATED: Joint Russian, Chinese Pacific Bomber Flight Prompts Japan and South Korea to Scramble Fighters2.
-
Nov 24, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
Thousands of North Korean workers are departing China’s border city of Dandong without replacement, with approximately 4,000 leaving in October alone. “This month, about 2,000 North Korean workers have already been sent home. That amounts to an average of 200 or so workers going home every day. Seven minibuses have been chartered to take them back across the border every day,” a source in China told Daily NK recently.
-
Nov 22, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
The North Korean won has lost half its value against the dollar and yuan this year, driving more citizens to conduct marketplace transactions in foreign currencies. Multiple sources in North Korea told Daily NK recently that because of the constant rise of exchange rates this year, public demand for foreign currency has increased while market vendors also prefer transactions to be conducted in foreign currency.
-
Nov 22, 2024 | 
myemail.constantcontact.com | Taejun Kang |Mun Dong Hui |Lee Chae Eun |Seulkee Jang
Quotes of the Day: “Man gives every reason for his conduct, save one, every excuse for his crimes, save one, every plead for his safety, safe one; and that one is his cowardice.” – George Bernard Shaw “If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you, but answer, ‘He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would have not mentioned these alone.’” – Epictetus “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the...
-
Nov 20, 2024 | 
dailynk.com | Seulkee Jang
North Korea’s market exchange rates have soared to unprecedented levels. After stabilizing for two months following a peak in early September, the US dollar to North Korean won rate has surged by over 10%, causing turmoil in the marketplace. According to Daily NK’s regular survey of market prices in North Korea, the greenback was trading at 18,100 won in a particular market in Pyongyang on Nov. 10, 13.1% higher than it was in the previous survey two weeks earlier on Oct.
