interruptions in
industrial production. Abundant mineral resources and hydropower have formed
the basis of industrial development since WWII. Output of the extractive
industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead,
and precious metals. Manufacturing is centered on heavy industry, including
military industry, with light industry lagging far behind. Despite the use
of improved seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of
fertilizers, North Korea has not yet become self-sufficient in food
production. Five consecutive years of poor harvests, coupled with
distribution problems, have led to chronic food shortages. North Korea
remains far behind South Korea in economic development and living standards.
National product:
GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $22 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-10% to -15% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
$1,000 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $18.5 billion; expenditures $18.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1992)
Exports:
$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural and fishery products,
manufactures (including armaments)
partners:
China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico
Imports:
$1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
petroleum, grain, coking coal, machinery and equipment, consumer goods
partners:
China, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore
External debt:
$8 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -15% (1992 est.)
Electricity:
7,300,000 kW capacity; 26,000 million kWh produced, 1,160 kWh per capita
(1992)

*Korea, North, Economy

Industries:
machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining,
metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Agriculture:
accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force; principal crops - rice,
corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products - cattle,
hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain; fish catch estimated at 1.7
million metric tons in 1987
Economic aid:
Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s
Currency:
1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon
Exchange rates:
North Korean won (Wn) per US$1 - 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1
(January 1990), 2.3 (December