◆A Stark Gap—From Nonpayment to 100,000 Won
Let us examine state enterprise wages more closely.
Wages at large-scale mines, coal mines, steel mills, and other enterprises and factories operated according to the state's production targets (centrally-managed enterprises) remain at the same level as shortly after the increase: 35,000–50,000 won.
Additionally, for skilled workers such as welders, it is reported that 2,000–5,000 won is added to the base wage. However, considering unprecedented hyperinflation, state-set wage levels are woefully insufficient to maintain even a minimal standard of living.
Moreover, as mentioned in earlier articles, since the 2017 international sanctions on North Korea, many mines and coal mines have not escaped serious management difficulties. According to a reporting partner, "the situation is such that half of workers do not even receive their wages." This underscores the crisis.
Meanwhile, provincially-managed enterprises—which have considerable autonomy in raw materials procurement, production, and sales—also have discretion in wage determination. As a result, significant wage gaps have emerged depending on management conditions, according to reporting partners. "Some enterprises fail to pay wages at all due to poor management, while others pay as much as 100,000 won," they report.
In other words, profitable enterprises can pay higher wages accordingly, but if they are unprofitable, the enterprise bears responsibility for that outcome, which is why wage arrears sometimes occur. Based on comprehensive reports from our reporting partners, the average wage for provincially-managed enterprise workers appears to be approximately 70,000–100,000 won per month. Additionally, separate from wages, some factories distribute inventory of manufactured goods in kind to workers.
◆Wages Become Meaningless Again… People’s Choices
The grain provided free to workers themselves also varies depending on management conditions. According to a reporting partner, corn is typically distributed at around 5 kilograms per month, though some workplaces cannot provide it at all. As this gap widens, workers have begun criticizing officials as "incompetent" and actively seeking moves to enterprises with better conditions—a phenomenon ASIAPRESS reported in 2024.
Additionally, for state-run convenience service enterprises (restaurants, barbershops, small shops, tailoring and other service businesses), "workers typically receive 70,000 won or more. There are sometimes profits from transactions with enterprises, so there is additional income beyond wages," a reporting partner said.
At the time of the survey, a reporting partner remarked, "They raised wages and at first it was good, but now wages are meaningless. You can't live on wages alone."
In effect, the situation has returned to what it was before. People have no choice but to seek other sources of income. In the next installment, we will report on "processing-for-hire"—a key means of supplementing livelihoods when wages alone prove insufficient.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
■［List of Series］North Korea's Economy Seen Through a Large-Scale Price Survey
