Research Reports
A Study on Changes in North Korean Agriculture Since the Food Crisis
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AuthorKim, Younghoon
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Publication Date2006.11.01
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Original
North Korea’s agriculture confronts serious problems. The underdeveloped industrial structure and working population are not improved for more than 30 years. Agricultural materials and foundation are insufficient. North Korea’s agricultural production is far behind it’s production potential. These problems made it difficult to solve North Korea’s chronic food shortage problems for more than 10 years.
North Korea needs to go ahead with a proper plan for the agricultural development. It means the country needs reformation and capital. North Korea already introduced limited agricultural reform but the effort was in vain due to capital shortage. Inadequate institutional reform of North Korea is the reason for low capital investment from other countries. The current economic and agricultural indexes show that the country's situation has not much improved since the mid 1990s when North Korea began to suffer the chronic food shortage.
Considering all the aspects, it can be diagnosed that the agriculture of North Korea is caught in a trap of unsuccessful institutional reform and capital shortage. It seems that North Korea is still lost in the trap. To settle the situation, the country needs bold actions such as active reformation and the introduction of foreign investment. Although the solution looks far from achievable, North Korea has to start from looking for possible alternatives. A small size agricultural incubating project is the available alternative and a starting point for North Korea at this point.
Researchers: Kim Young-Hoon, Ji In-Bae
E-mail address: kyhoon@krei.re.kr
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