ECONOMY
North Korea's economy declined sharply in the 1990s with the end of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of bloc-trading with the countries of the former socialist bloc. Gross national income per capita is estimated to have fallen by about one-third between 1990 and 2002. The economy has since stabilized and shown some modest growth in recent years, which may be reflective of increased inter-Korean economic cooperation. Output and living standards, however, remain far below 1990 levels. Other centrally-planned economies in similar situations opted for domestic economic reform and liberalization of trade and investment. North Korea formalized some modest wage and price reforms in 2002, and has increasingly tolerated markets and a small private sector as the state-run distribution system has deteriorated. The regime, however, seems determined to maintain control. In October 2005, emboldened by an improved harvest and increased food donations from South Korea, the North Korean Government banned private grain sales and announced a return to centralized food rationing. Reports indicate this effort to reassert state control and to control inflation has been largely ineffective. Another factor contributing to the economy's poor performance is the disproportionately large share of GDP (thought to be about one-fourth) that North Korea devotes to its military.
North Korean industry is operating at only a small fraction of capacity due to lack of fuel, spare parts, and other inputs. Agriculture is now 23% of GDP, even though agricultural output has not recovered to early 1990 levels. The infrastructure is generally poor and outdated, and the energy sector has collapsed. About 80% of North Korea's terrain consists of moderately high mountain ranges and partially forested mountains and hills separated by deep, narrow valleys and small, cultivated plains. The most rugged areas are the north and east coasts. Good harbors are found on the eastern coast. Pyongyang, the capital, near the country's west coast, is located on the Taedong River.
North Korea experienced a severe famine following record floods in the summer of 1995 and continues to suffer from chronic food shortages and malnutrition. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) provided substantial emergency food assistance beginning in 1995 (2 million tons of which came from the United States), but the North Korean Government suspended the WFP emergency program at the end of 2005 and permitted only a greatly reduced WFP program through a protracted relief and recovery operation. While China and the R.O.K. had provided most of the D.P.R.K.'s food aid in the past, the D.P.R.K. has refused to accept food aid from the R.O.K. since Lee Myung-bak's inauguration. The United States began providing food assistance to the D.P.R.K. in June 2008 after establishing a strong framework to ensure that the food will reach those most in need. The United States intends to provide up to 400,000 tons of food through WFP and 100,000 tons through U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The United States also assisted U.S. NGOs in providing aid to fight the outbreak of infectious diseases following August 2007 floods, and is working with U.S. NGOs to improve the supply of electricity at provincial hospitals in North Korea.
Development
Policy
In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and termination of subsidized trade arrangements with Russia, other former Communist states, and China, North Korea announced the creation of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the northeast regions of Najin (sometime rendered "Rajin"), Chongjin, and Sonbong. Problems with infrastructure, bureaucracy, and uncertainties about investment security and viability have hindered growth and development of this SEZ. The government announced in 2002 plans to establish a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in Sinuiju, at the western end of the North Korea-China border. However, the government has taken few concrete steps to establish the Sinuiju SAR, and its future is uncertain. In addition, North Korea and South Korea have established a special economic zone near the city of Kaesong, where about 65 South Korean small and medium sized companies operate manufacturing facilities employing North Korean workers (see further information under North-South Economic Ties).
North Korea implemented limited micro- and macroeconomic reforms in 2002, including increases in prices and wages, changes in foreign investment laws, a steep currency devaluation, and reforms in industry and management. Though the changes have failed to stimulate recovery of the industrial sector, there are reports of changed economic behavior at the enterprise and individual level. One unintended consequence of the 2002 changes has been severe inflation. An increasing number of North Koreans now try to work in the informal sector to cope with growing hardship and reduced government support.
North-South
Economic Ties
Two-way trade between North and South Korea, legalized in 1988, had risen to more than $1.8 billion in 2007, much of it related to out-processing or assembly work undertaken by South Korean firms in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). A significant portion of the total also includes donated goods provided to the North as humanitarian assistance or as part of inter-Korean cooperation projects. Although business-based and processing-on-commission transactions continued to grow, the bulk of South Korean exports to North Korea in 2007 was still non-commercial.
Since the June 2000 North-South summit, North and South Korea have reconnected their east and west coast railroads and roads where they cross the DMZ and are working to improve these transportation routes. North and South Korea conducted tests of the east and west coast railroads on May 17, 2007 and began cross-border freight service between Kaesong in the D.P.R.K. and Munsan in the R.O.K. in December 2007. Much of the work done in North Korea has been funded by South Korea. The west coast rail and road are complete as far north as the KIC (six miles north of the DMZ), but little work is being done north of Kaesong. On the east coast, the road is complete but the rail line is far from operational. Since 2003, tour groups have been using the east coast road to travel from South Korea to Mt. Geumgang in North Korea, where cruise ship-based tours had been permitted since 1998.
As of August 2008, 72 South Korean firms were manufacturing goods in the KIC, employing more than 30,000 North Korean workers. Most of the goods are sold in South Korea; a small quantity, about 20% of the KIC products, is being exported to foreign markets. Ground was broken on the complex in June 2003, and the first products were shipped from the KIC in December 2004. Plans envision 250 firms employing 350,000 workers by 2012.
R.O.K.-organized tours to Mt. Kumgang in North Korea began in 1998. Since then,
more than a million visitors have traveled to Mt. Kumgang. The R.O.K. suspended
tours to Mt. Kumgang in July 2008, however, following the shooting death of a
South Korean tourist at the resort by a D.P.R.K. soldier.
Economic Interaction with the U.S.
The United States imposed a near total economic embargo on North Korea in June
1950 when North Korea attacked the South. Sanctions were eased in stages
beginning in 1989 and following the Agreed Framework on North Korea's nuclear
programs in 1994. In June 2000, a new series of regulations authorized most
transactions between U.S. and North Korean persons. Among other things, these
regulations allowed most products, other than those specifically controlled for
military, non-proliferation, or anti-terrorism purposes, to be exported to North
Korea without an export license (although the export licensing requirement was
subsequently reimposed in order to comply with UN Security Council Resolution
1718). Restrictions on U.S. investments in North Korea and travel of U.S.
citizens to North Korea were also eased, and U.S. ships and aircraft were
allowed to call at North Korean ports. On June 26, 2008, the President announced
the termination of the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act with
respect to the D.P.R.K. To date, however, U.S. economic interaction with North
Korea remains minimal, and North Korean assets frozen since 1950 remained
frozen. In January 2007, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1718, the
U.S. Department of Commerce issued new regulations prohibiting the export of
luxury goods to North Korea. Many statutory sanctions on North Korea, including
those affecting trade in military, dual-use, and missile-related items and those
based on multilateral arrangements, remain in place. Most forms of U.S. economic
assistance, other than purely humanitarian assistance, are prohibited. North
Korea does not enjoy "Normal Trade Relations" with the United States, so any goods manufactured in North Korea are subject to a higher tariff upon entry to the United States.
Economy*
GNI (2006 estimate): $25.6 billion; 23.3% in agriculture and fishery, 10.2% in mining, 19.5% in manufacturing, 4.5% in electricity, gas and tap water output, 9.0% in construction, and 33.6% in services (2006).
Per capita GNI (2006): $1,108.
Agriculture: Products--rice, potatoes, soybeans, cattle, pigs, pork and eggs.
Mining and manufacturing: Types--military products; machine building; chemicals; mining (gold, coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, etc.); metallurgy; textiles; food processing; tourism.
Trade (2007): Exports--$1.684 billion: minerals, non-ferrous metals, garments, chemicals/plastics, machinery/electric and electronic products, animal products, wood products, vegetable products, and precious metals. The D.P.R.K. is also thought to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from the unreported sale of missiles, narcotics, and counterfeit cigarettes, and other illicit activities. Imports--$3.055 billion: minerals, petroleum, machinery/electronics, vegetable products, textiles, chemicals, non-ferrous metals, plastics, vehicles, and animal products.
Major trading partners (2007): (1) China, (2) R.O.K., (3) Thailand, (4) Russia, and (5) India.
*In most cases, the figures used above are estimates based upon incomplete data and projections.
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