“Economic and livelihood difficulties of North Korean residents deepen amid Kim Jong Un regime’s nuclear and missile development”
Ministry of Unification publishes Report on North Korea’s Economy and Society as Perceived by 6,351 Defectors

February 6, 2024

The Ministry of Unification released the Report on North Korea’s Economy and Society as Perceived by 6,351 Defectors (hereinafter referred to as the “report”) to the public for the first time. The report is based on comprehensive in-depth surveys conducted with North Korean defectors over the past decade.

This report reveals the dire realities of the North Korean economy with the growing suffering of North Korean residents amidst the regime’s neglection of their livelihoods and pursuance of nuclear and missile development.

The state-led distribution system has practically collapsed, with an increasing number of residents receiving neither wages nor rations from their official workplaces.

With the failure of the state-run economy, businesses are struggling to operate due to power and raw material shortages, and an increasing number of residents are relying on markets thereby taking matters such as food, clothing, shelter, and medicine into their own hands.

The report also highlights the regime oppressing its residents by intensifying surveillance and social control, without making any efforts to improve their livelihoods.

The exploitation of residents by those in power is worsening, with bribery nearly doubling since Kim Jong Un came to power, indicating that corruption is rife.

On the education front, idolization of the leadership remains the top priority, while the authorities’ surveillance and social control have tightened across society.

Meanwhile, as discontent with the regime accumulates, there are signs of gradual change in the awareness of North Korean residents.

In particular, there is a growing negative perception among residents toward the third-generation hereditary succession or Kim Family (Mount Paektu bloodline) succession.

Despite intense controls by the authorities, we have confirmed that the residents’ interest about the outside world, including watching foreign videos, is increasing steadily.

This portrayal of North Korean reality is the result derived from the Unification Ministry’s accumulated survey of over 6,000 North Korean defectors.

The Ministry of Unification has carried out the In-depth Information Collection of North Korean Economy and Society Project since 2010 to objectively and systematically understand changes within North Korea. The Ministry has accumulated extensive and systematic data on North Korea’s economic and social situation from the survey, comprising over 1,100 questions covering areas such as the economy, society, and residents’ awareness.

By publishing this report, the Ministry aims to accurately reveal the realities of North Korea to the public, guide the North to make the right changes, and prepare for a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace.

In his publication speech, Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho expressed his hope that the publication of the Report on North Korea’s Economy and Society as Perceived by 6,351 Defectors will help the public understand the dire realities faced by North Korean residents and encourage efforts and solidarity to improve these conditions.

The Ministry will distribute the report both online and offline and is planning to publish an English version. Furthermore, it will persist in its endeavors to accurately understand the realities of North Korea and spread them both domestically and internationally.

* Unofficial translation