Economy

3 August 2024
Kim Jong Un's train stopped just short of flood damage in the northern part of the country. (North Korea's Korean Central News Agency via Reuters) 
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin ride in a car together in Pyongyang on June 19. (KCNA via Kyodo)
Comment

North Korea faces limits of economic boon from Russia 'alliance'

For Moscow, long-term partnership with Pyongyang may have little upside

3 August 2024
The North Korean flag flies at the country's consular office in Dandong, China.
North Korea tensions

North Korea forced labor system widespread, U.N. report says

Pyongyang urged to end system of compulsory state-allocated employment

17 July 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. (KCNA via Reuters)
Economy

North Korea's Kim talks up economy amid closer Russia ties

Food shipments seen easing shortage as farming and China trade recover

3 July 2024
Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un upon his arrival in Pyongyang on June 19.
International relations

Russia's Putin lands in North Korea for talks with Kim Jong Un

Need for ammunition in Ukraine war seen as an impetus for first visit in 24 years

19 June 2024
From left, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. (Source photos by Uichiro Kasai and Reuters)
International relations

China, Japan and South Korea to navigate tensions at Seoul summit

First gathering in years aims to restore trilateral diplomacy as challenges mount

25 May 2024
The U.N. Security Council has been unable to pass any new resolutions against North Korea for over six years.
Datawatch

U.N. sanctions on North Korea have been losing their bite

Pyongyang has been boosting trade amid discord in the international community

24 March 2024
A seafood processor in Wenchang, Hainan province. The U.S. lawmakers urge the Biden administration to ban seafood imports from any of the Chinese companies that employ North Korean workers.
Trade

China seafood targeted by U.S. lawmakers over North Korean labor

Congress members warn sales could fund Pyongyang's nuclear program

13 March 2024
Trucks have resumed traveling between Dandong, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea. (Photo by Kohei Fujimura)
N Korea at crossroads

China-North Korea truck traffic resumes in sign of reopening

Vehicles seen on Dandong-Sinuiju bridge as Pyongyang slowly lifts border shutdown

4 December 2023
The North Korean government has clamped down on food sales by private markets. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea struggles with food shortage despite import rebound

Conditions worsen as necessities languish, causing famine even in Pyongyang

13 July 2023
The Friendship Bridge and the Broken Bridge are illuminated at night over the Yalu River, which separates North Korea's Sinuiju from China, in Dandong
N Korea at crossroads

From wigs to seafood, North Korea scrambles for China trade

Exports return to pre-COVID levels, but new flare-up in Chinese infections poses risk

25 May 2023
 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at a Workers' Party plenary session.  (Photo by KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea debates farm reform in sign of growing food shortage

Workers' Party holds plenary session just 2 months after previous one

28 February 2023
The Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge stretches over the Yalu River and normally serves as a major trade route between China and North Korea. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea and China reopen key trucking corridor after 2-year halt

Shortage-hit Pyongyang slowly lowers barriers to biggest trade partner

16 February 2023
China is set to announce on Tuesday GDP growth rates for the last quarter and the 2022 full year, along with other key economic data. In December it scrapped its zero-COVID strategy, which had weighed on growth.
Your Week in Asia

Davos 2023, China GDP, Chinese Lunar New Year starts

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

15 January 2023
Left, Kang Dong-wan collects trash from North Korea. (Photo courtesy of Kang Dong-wan) Right, a North Korean soldier stands in front of a pile of garbage near Sinuiju in 2009. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean trash offers window into its economy

South Korean scholar studies litter from the North for signs of change

10 January 2023
Vegetables and watermelons are sold at an outdoor market in the North Korean city of Hyesan during late July. The photo was taken from the Chinese city of Changbai. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean shortages put out the lights and shrink marketplaces

Observations from nearby Chinese city hint at misery since COVID border closures

10 August 2022
No masks are in sight as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un embraces veterans on July 28. The photo, published by the Korean Central News Agency, appears to be a message that coronavirus is no longer a concern in Pyongyang. (KCNA via Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's triple economic woes stoke fears of 'silent' famine

COVID curbs and sanctions deepen Pyongyang's isolation from the world

7 August 2022
Trade across the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, pictured here on the Chinese side in Dandong, is vital to North Korea's isolated economy. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
N Korea at crossroads

Shortage-hit North Korea urges China to restart freight rail lifeline

Coronavirus restrictions loosened as country struggles to feed itself

20 July 2022
Stream article image
Feeding Asia

Hunger in Asia on the rise

Inflation, COVID-19, climate, conflict drive food insecurity

6 July 2022
This satellite image purports to show the North Korean freighter Tae Phyong 2 taking on a load of coal at the North Korean port of Nampo on Aug. 8, 2021.
N Korea at crossroads

Missile funding?: North Korea seen smuggling coal to China

Nikkei probe of satellite imagery finds both nations may be violating UN sanctions

29 June 2022
A freight train crosses the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge connecting China with North Korea on Feb. 25. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
N Korea at crossroads

China-North Korea border reopens, but traders still 'sit and wait'

Flow of goods remains at a trickle amid lingering COVID concerns

18 March 2022
Kim Jong Un, center, who has begun redistributing military resources to people in rural areas, participates in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm in South Hamgyong Province, on Feb. 18. (Korean Central News Agency/Reuters)
Comment

Is North Korean leader primed to trade missiles for tractors?

Despite his belligerence, Kim Jong Un cannot ignore looming food crisis

1 March 2022
The success of state-sponsored crypto heists will say much about the stability of Kim Jong Un's economy and nuclear ambitions.
Opinion

Will North Korea be the death of Bitcoin?

Pyongyang's $400m crypto haul is bad news for bellwether digital currency

20 January 2022
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addresses the Central Committee of the Workers' Party on Dec. 28.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un urges rural growth ahead of 10th anniversary in power

North Korean leader unveils new road map to fight food shortage amid COVID

30 December 2021
Buildings in North Korea are seen behind the Friendship Bridge in Dandong, China. The bridge is one of the few ways to enter or leave the North.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea braces for economic winter as omicron cuts off trade

A decade later, Kim Jong Un continues policy of suppression over development

21 December 2021