{"id":4476,"date":"2020-01-31T10:51:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T01:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4476"},"modified":"2020-02-13T10:56:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T01:56:10","slug":"pyongyang-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/01\/recommendations\/pyongyang-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cN. Korean Trade Interview\uff1e Pyongyang Faces Great Depression as Apartment Prices Plummet and Markets Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A young woman sells potatoes on the street near an apartment block in central Pyongyang. (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

Two years have passed since the international community imposed the \u2018strongest economic sanctions in history\u2019 on North Korea. So, how has the economy in Pyongyang fared? In December 2019, a Chinese member of ASIAPRESS sat down with a visiting North Korean trade official to find out.<\/p>\n

--What is the outlook for the economy?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe economic sanctions have continued, with nothing changing after [Kim Jong-un\u2019s] meeting with Trump in June. We don\u2019t have high hopes. Those working for foreign currency-earning organizations, as well as those in Pyongyang are unhappy and anxious. They complain to each other, saying, \u2018Things are hopeless.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

--Has the trade slump continued?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThere is still no coal being traded and the trade companies are looking to export other items. The main exports to China now are collected from the mountains by locals- medicinal herbs, pine nuts, etc. Red beans are also being exported.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Markets going through a recession<\/h2>\n

--How about life for Pyongyang citizens? How are the markets doing?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThere are no sales being made at any of the markets. People in Pyongyang complain about the current recession, saying, \u2018We have to go 100 ri (roughly 40 kilometers) to make 1,000 won.\u2019 They still collect the daily market tax from each stall but many traders are not coming to the markets anymore because they can\u2019t even earn that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials are registering as \u201cmobilized effort foreign currency-earning enterprises\u201d to make inroads into the retail market. Sales at markets have worsened because officials negotiated with the authorities to build wholesale retail stores. They intend to use their authority to monopolize retail profits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u203b A note on foreign currency-earning through mobilization of the public: Since the 1970\u2019s, the authorities have set quotas for residents across the country to collect medicinal herbs, pine nuts, and mushrooms to be sold abroad. Residents would receive no remuneration for their collections but would give over the items as a show of loyalty to the party. This practice disappeared in the late 1990\u2019s however. Since then, it has been reintroduced but now citizens are paid for the items they collect. With this incentive, residents actively collect these items and bring them to \u201cmobilized effort foreign currency-earning offices,\u201d which compete for the residents\u2019 goods with other agencies. Wholesale stores created by these foreign currency-earning offices though have put pressure on the existing markets.<\/p>\n

Next page :Residents baulk at resource demands for state projects...<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A food stall at Moran Market in downtown Pyongyang. The women are not market clerks, rather they each manage their own 80-centimeter-wide stands. Photographed in July 2011 by Koo Kwang-ho (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Residents baulk at resource demands for state projects<\/h2>\n

--Are they controlling the markets?<\/strong>
\n\u201cSo far, no South Korean products have been allowed to be sold at the markets. Fancy clothes with English letters or Chinese characters largely printed on them are also not allowed. But there are no other regulations really. There is more opposition to the authorities demands for funds, rather than the authorities\u2019 market regulations.<\/p>\n

The authorities demand money to support the military as well as the construction of the Samjiyon tourist zone and a far-off power plant. However, the amount we are to give is not set and is supposed to symbolize our degree of loyalty. How well a vendor does at the market is determined by the location of their stall, which is decided by how much money the vendor gives in support to the authorities. Many say that \u2018people are dying due to these funding demands.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Poverty Forces Rural, Underage Women into Prostitution: Regime Responds with Rallies and Police Stings<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

--Is it true that food distribution to Pyongyang citizens has been suspended?<\/strong>
\n\u201cNo, ration distributions were reintroduced in the second half of last year. We receive rations that are 1 part Chinese rice to 9 parts corn- this is the ration for all households. You can only survive off it for a week, so additional cash income is essential. Rations from workplaces and companies can vary widely depending on how business is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u203b The food distribution system almost collapsed in the 1990\u2019s due to the deterioration of the national economy. Pyongyang residents were the only ones to continue receiving rations. North Koreans have called the rations \u2018capital rice.\u2019 Even Pyongyang residents had rations discontinued, however, at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, when the economic crisis worsened due to sanctions. (Though some say it was discontinued in 2017). According to the trade official, the distribution service was revived in late 2019, following President Xi Jinping\u2019s pledge to provide large-scale food aid during his visit to North Korea in June.<\/p>\n

Next page :Apartment prices crash but there are no buyers...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 Apartment prices crash but there are no buyers<\/h2>\n

--I heard that Pyongyang apartment prices crashed in 2018. How are they these days?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe prices of the best apartments downtown have all plunged to less than half of what they were worth before the sanctions. Nevertheless, there is no one in a position to buy them. The furnished, 55-square meter, luxury apartments in Junggu District now cost about 20,000-25,000 US dollars. The value of cheaper apartments fell to about 4,500-6,000 dollars but hardly any of them have been sold.<\/p>\n

An acquaintance living just outside of Pyongyang lives in a 130-square meter apartment with 2 bathrooms. He was shocked when the value of the apartment fell to 12,000 dollars in 2018. It is valued at only 10,000 dollars now but he says there is no one who can buy it. It\u2019s because there is no money circulating in this economy. Still, the top percent of Pyongyang\u2019s wealthy elite live in homes far more luxurious than those in China.\u201d<\/p>\n

--I heard that there are more taxis in Pyongyang these days.<\/strong>
\n\u201cPyongyang\u2019s lack of public transportation means that there is a demand for taxis. But I think the number of customers has decreased considerably. I also take taxis less frequently now to save money. The basic fare is 2 US dollars, which rises depending on the distance. On the other hand, the number of \u2018income buses\u2019 has gone up. People make money that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u203b \u2018Income buses\u2019 are buses operated by individuals who buy a used Chinese bus and register it as a member of a company. They charge fares which are far more expensive than state-run public buses, but their reliability attracts many passengers.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Are there people without complaints?<\/h2>\n

-- The Kim Jong-un regime has conducted several missile tests since May, 2019, right?<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhy, if you don\u2019t have any money, would you shoot missiles like that? I don\u2019t understand it. It\u2019s a waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

--Kim Jong-un seems determined to not back down to the US. What do residents think of the regime?<\/strong>
\n\u201cNobody speaks out but is there actually anyone who doesn't wish to complain? There are people who say, \u2018Let the regime do as it likes.\u2019 As for me, honestly, I don\u2019t have any expectations. I don\u2019t even want to hear the name [Kim Jong-un].\u201d<\/p>\n

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