Vendors sell fruit along a rural road between Nampo and Kaesong, North Korea, in 2015. /Photo=Uwe Brodrecht More than five years after North Korea’s state-run grain stores were introduced, North Korean people say the outlets are operating more smoothly than in the early days, when erratic supply often left shelves bare or stores shuttered entirely. Yet as rice prices have climbed and the price gap between state stores and open markets has narrowed sharply, satisfaction with the program is giving way to frustration over affordability and inconsistent quality. The grain stores, known in Korean as yanggok pansomso (state-subsidized grain retail outlets established by the North Korean government to sell rice and other staples at below-market prices), were created to cushion North Korean people against food price volatility. According to sources who spoke with Daily NK in June 2026, most stores now maintain a relatively steady supply, a marked improvement from...

Solar panels installed on a building in North Korea. / Photo: Captured from the website of North Korean external propaganda outlet Sokwang North Korean authorities are actively encouraging state institutions, enterprises, and neighborhood watch units to generate their own electricity through solar power as the country’s chronic energy shortages show no signs of easing. But the steep upfront cost of the necessary equipment means that, in practice, only those with access to significant funds are able to install it, a source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK on Friday. In Yomju county, lectures are being held at institutions, enterprises, and neighborhood watch units in which the solar setups already operating at select facilities are held up as success stories, the source said. The message being promoted is that, given the instability of state electricity supply, units must take responsibility for securing their own power, particularly in sectors where electricity...

The Workers’ Party of Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported July 3, 2023, that efforts to clear and reinforce rivers and waterways must continue. Photo: Rodong Sinmun/News1 North Korea is rushing to survey and reinforce flood-prone areas ahead of the summer rainy season, mobilizing factory and enterprise workers for large-scale repair work at rivers, embankments, and mountain slopes across North Pyongan province. A Daily NK source in North Pyongan province said Monday that the Land and Environmental Protection Management Department of the Unsan county people’s committee — a local administrative body responsible for land use, environmental protection, and infrastructure — conducted field inspections in early May targeting areas at high risk of flooding and landslides along the county’s rivers, streams, and hillsides. From mid-May onward, workers from local factories and enterprises were mobilized to carry out embankment repairs, drainage channel maintenance, and riverbed clearing. Work-site inspections have been conducted frequently...

The Workers’ Party of Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported May 10, 2026, that a combined Korean People’s Army army, navy, and air force contingent participated in the 81st Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9. Photo: Rodong Sinmun/News1 Geopolitical dynamics are shifting rapidly as major powers intensify diplomatic coordination over the future shape of the international order. During the Victory Day parade on May 9, Putin hinted that the war in Ukraine may be entering its final phase. Less than a week later, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a shared objective. Finally, on May 19, Putin and Xi reinforced their strategic coordination on major international issues. Taken together, these developments suggest that the geopolitical environment that elevated North Korea’s strategic importance during the war may be changing. If so, Pyongyang should be paying close attention....