North Korea

North Korean Women Say No to Motherhood Due to Economic Difficulties

Women ‘sneer’ at government campaigns to increase birthrate when food is scarce.

Farmers replant rice seedlings at the Namsa Co-op Farm of Rangnang District in Pyongyang, North Korea on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.

Grain-Short North Korea Forces Housewives to ‘Volunteer’ for Farm Work

2021-06-21

Wives of men who lost their jobs to the pandemic must relocate to rural farms in North Korea’s breadbasket.

In a photo taken on December 17, 2019 Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers make their way to pay their respects to late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, on the anniversary of his death, at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang.

Special North Korean Military Investigation Reveals Combat Reserve Supply Shortages

2021-06-18

Officers could be punished for authorizing use of stockpiled food, fuel and medicine.

North Korea Cracks Down on Illegal Phone Calls to China and South Korea

2021-06-16

Starving families risk their lives to contact relatives from abroad to receive remittances.

FILE PHOTO: Doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at the Biblioteka kod Milutina restaurant in Kragujevac, Serbia, May 4, 2021.

North Korea Has Been Importing Chinese COVID-19 Vaccines Since Early May

2021-06-15

Sources uncertain who is first in line to receive Sinopharm jab.

In a file photo, a woman stands outside a grocery store on a street in Pyongyang.

Citizens Anxious as Food Prices Fluctuate in North Korea

2021-06-14

Even the capital Pyongyang is suffering major price shocks as rice prices rise nearly 30 percent.

In this file photo, a statue stands in front of the Juche (self-reliance) Tower in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

North Korea Preaches Self-Reliance to Struggling Citizens

2021-06-11

Angry residents say self-reliance is ‘fiction’ and not a real solution to economic problems.

North Korea (the dark area) and South Korea at night are seen in an undated NASA handout picture from the International Space Station.

North Korea Diverts Electricity from Provinces to Keep Pyongyang Powered

2021-06-10

Construction projects in the capital prioritized as rural residents stumble in the dark.

A young North Korean dressed as egg falls during a performance for the annual massive propaganda spectacle known as a "mass game" held in Pyongyang, North Korea in a file photo.

Elite North Korean Farm Sells Chicken Embryos as Heath Supplements to Raise Cash

2021-06-08

State funds are so low that the supplier of meat to Kim Jong Un is hawking unhatched eggs as health supplements.

North Korean workers at a construction site in Vladivostok, Russia, in an undated photo.

North Korea Taps Workers in Russia to Fund Pyongyang Construction

2021-06-07

Workers complain that they barely make enough for living expenses but now must pay even more to their government.

A woman pays money to a cashier at a market in Pyongyang, North Korea, in a file photo.

North Korea Restricts Local Markets, Pushing Sales in State-Owned Stores

2021-06-03

The move hurts North Korean residents already struggling every day to earn a living, sources in the country say.

North Korean Capital Cracks Down on Illegal TVs to Prevent Access to South Korean Broadcasts

2021-05-25

Each Pyongyang household must report the number of TVs they own, and they face stiff punishments for hiding them.

US President Joe Biden (R) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in participate in a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 21, 2021.

US, South Korea Vow 'Pragmatic Steps' to Reduce Tensions, Denuclearize North Korea

2021-05-21

"We both are deeply concerned about the situation," Joe Biden says after talks with Seoul's Moon Jae-in.

North Korean soldiers ride a truck loaded with grain in a file photo.

North Korean Security Services Given Food for a Year While Others Go Hungry

2021-05-20

The move is aimed at ensuring loyalty to the regime at a time of general hunger and hardship in the country.

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