New Korea Perspectives
A photographic pictorial of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, DPRK-China trade boosts East Asian economy, Agriculture makes advances
UPDATE: The 41 images below are the official record of the DPRK’s recent political, economic and social activity.
China's trade with North Korea in 2023 recovered to roughly 82 percent of the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, official data showed Thursday, with bilateral freight shipments via train and trucks resumed, although Pyongyang has yet to lift its COVID-19 travel restrictions fully.
North Korea's foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday and then held rare talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong Un to visit the country.
Last year, the Academy of Agricultural Science made progress in scientific researches for ensuring stable and sustainable development of agricultural production.
Over the past three decades, FAO has cooperated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, providing agricultural technical assistance ranging from agroforestry, fruit and crop production and marine aquaculture to transboundary pest and disease control. Emergency support has been a major feature of cooperation in the past, while more comprehensive programme approaches to development have been adopted since the second half of the 1990s, including an increasing focus on issues such as food safety.
China-North Korea trade in 2023 recovers to 82% of pre-pandemic levels
By Kyodo News
China's trade with North Korea in 2023 recovered to roughly 82 percent of the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, official data showed Thursday, with bilateral freight shipments via train and trucks resumed, although Pyongyang has yet to lift its COVID-19 travel restrictions fully.
In 2023, the total value of China's trade with North Korea more than doubled from the previous year to $2.3 billion.
A freight train service between northeastern China's Dandong and North Korea's Sinuiju fully restarted in 2022, with truck operations between the two countries' border cities also confirmed in 2023.
China is North Korea's closest and most influential ally in economic terms. Last year, Pyongyang's imports from China stood at some $2 billion, while its exports to the neighboring country reached about $292 million, the data showed.
Bilateral trade exceeded $6.5 billion in 2013 but began dropping sharply from 2018 after U.N. Security Council resolutions were adopted in December 2017 against Pyongyang over its launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Read more here.
North Korean minister lauds 'comradely' ties with Russia, meets Putin in Kremlin
By Guy Faulconbridge (amended)
North Korea's foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday and then held rare talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong Un to visit the country.
The Kremlin said on the Telegram messaging app that North Korea's Choe Son Hui and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had briefed Putin on the results of their talks earlier in the day. No further details were immediately available.
Putin has deepened ties with North Korea since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the United States and its allies have condemned what they say have been significant North Korean missile deliveries to Russia to help its war effort.
Both Russia and North Korea have repeatedly dismissed the criticism. Moscow says it will develop ties with whatever countries it wants and that its cooperation with Pyongyang does not contravene international agreements.
Earlier on Tuesday, during her talks with Lavrov, North Korea's Choe hailed progress on implementing agreements struck during Kim's visit to eastern Russia last September.
"The fact that now the foreign ministers of the two countries often meet and deepen comradely ties is yet more proof that the Korean-Russian friendly relations, with a long history of friendship and tradition, are energetically moving forward in accordance with the plans of the leaders," Choe said.
Lavrov, who visited North Korea last October, said they would discuss the broader situation on the Korean peninsula, and he cautioned the United States against making any threats, saying they would achieve little.
Vladimir Putin visit to DPRK?
During Kim's visit to Russia, Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea and Choe's talks in Moscow are expected to include discussions about that potential trip.
"As for Putin's visit, yes, it is on the agenda - there is a current invitation and Putin will definitely use it at a convenient time, by mutual agreement of the parties, of course," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia has gone out of its way to publicise the renaissance of its relationship, including military ties, with North Korea, which was formed in 1948 with the backing of the then-Soviet Union.
For Putin, who says Russia is locked in an existential battle with the West over Ukraine, courting Kim allows him to needle Washington and its Asian allies while securing a deep supply of artillery for the Ukraine war.
For Kim, who has pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he casts as U.S. provocations, Russia is a big power ally with deep stores of advanced missile, military, space and nuclear technology.
When accompanying Kim on a tour of one of Russia's space launch sites in September, Putin said Russia would help Pyongyang build satellites and the two leaders discussed the possibility of sending a North Korean cosmonaut into space.
After taking over as president from Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, Putin visited Pyongyang in July 2000 for a meeting with Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un.
Read more here.
DPRK Research Findings Conductive to Agricultural Production
By Kim Ye Ryong
Last year, the Academy of Agricultural Science made progress in scientific researches for ensuring stable and sustainable development of agricultural production.
It intensified technical guidance with the main emphasis on converting the country’s agriculture into advanced one with science and technology as the driving force for agricultural development, and pushed ahead with the work to introduce high-yielding strains, advanced farming methods and technical products and other research findings.
It vigorously promoted scientific and technical guidance over agricultural production.
The academy worked out and distributed technical manuals and references according to regions, seasons and farming processes to proactively cope with disastrous abnormal weather and provided a guarantee for carrying on farming and guidance scientifically and technically.
It gave lectures and Q&A service on farming techniques through the online Q&A service system to help farms throughout the country solve sci-tech problems arising in each period of farming.
Its researchers directed efforts to further improving the accuracy of a method of estimating grain yields by means of satellite-beamed information analysis and thus made it possible to estimate the grain output across the country in a more scientific way.
They also laid a foundation for steady development of agricultural production by actively conducting research into breeding high-yield species.
The Rice Institute, Field Crop Institute, Maize Institute, Potato Institute and other institutes under the academy bred superior species which have high yields, short growth period and strong resistance to disastrous abnormal weather and diseases.
Researches into vegetables, fruits and animal husbandry were also intensified to develop relevant species for increasing per-hectare yields and milk production and improving taste.
Progress was also witnessed in the work to introduce new advanced farming methods and agricultural technical products.
Researchers developed a technique of high-yield wheat cultivation, growth stimulants for increasing a 1 000-grain weight and the ripening rate of crops, various fertilizers, seed coating materials and agrochemicals.
This year, too, officials and researchers of the academy are displaying their creative ability, setting a higher goal to produce practical achievements conducive to agricultural production.
Read more here.
Food and Agriculture Org. in Korea
Over the past three decades, FAO has cooperated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, providing agricultural technical assistance ranging from agroforestry, fruit and crop production and marine aquaculture to transboundary pest and disease control. Emergency support has been a major feature of cooperation in the past, while more comprehensive programme approaches to development have been adopted since the second half of the 1990s, including an increasing focus on issues such as food safety.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) secured FAO membership on 14 November, 1977 and subsequently FAO and the Government of the DPR Korea signed the Host Country Agreement on 1st January, 1998 and 9th February, 1998 respectively for the establishment of the FAO Representation in the DPRK under the Agreement for Double Accreditation from China.
Since then, FAO has provided technical support to the DPRK for over three decades aimed at enhancing national food and nutrition security. During this period, some 214 field projects assisted by FAO have received funding totalling 80,428 million USD.
The DPR Korea has a population of 24 million approx. Rural communities make up one third of the population mostly living in the 3000 cooperative farms which utilise 90% of the agriculture land. FAO work covers 8 out of 11 provinces, spread across 66 counties.
The agriculture sector, including forestry and fisheries, is the mainstay of the national economy of the DPR Korea contributing 20 percent to the country's GDP and employing 36% of its workforce. Despite the adverse topography, inclement weather, climatic aberrations and limited agricultural land (only 15% of the country's total land area is suitable for agricultural production while 85% is mountainous territory) the DPR Korea's food production continues to grow. Self-sufficiency in food production is a national priority.
FAO has supported the DPRK to achieve food security through agroforestry, soybean cultivation, fruit production, marine aquaculture and capacity building. FAO has also supported the rehabilitation of facilities related to double cropping, conservation agriculture, horticulture and prevention of trans-boundary animal disease such as influenza and foot and mouth disease.
Policy makers, government staff and researchers in the DPR Korea have benefited from various international study tours and regional FAO programmes that have enabled the exchange of experiences and expertise.
During the early years of 1985 to 2000, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded 17 long-term technical cooperation projects with a total value of close to 12 million USD, while more than 50 FAO funded projects under the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) were implemented in agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries.
More than 20 large-scale FAO programmes for double cropping were implemented during the 2000s with a value of well over 17 million USD, with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Italy as the main donors. During the decade, the double-cropping programme evolved into the National Special Programme for Food Security and the Italian Government provided funding to support it.
Since 2008, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) started to allocate funds to FAO emergency projects. The same year FAO's Emergency Operation and Rehabilitation Division commenced.
In 2011, the FAO-DPR Korea field programme portfolio for the first time reached 8 million USD, with the approval of three UNDP funded projects, three TCP and two emergency projects funded by CERF.
FAO cumulative delivery in 2011 stood at 64.4 million USD. The country office made a total delivery of 3,258 million USD in 2011; 5,819 million USD in 2012; 4,106 million USD in 2013 and 2.845 million USD in 2014. This significantly contributed to the increase in agricultural production leading to the gradual reduction of the chronic food gap in the country.
Read more here.