Studying North Korea’s economy is a testy business. It’s extraordinarily difficult to get any detailed information, even unverifiable information, about the either the state of the country’s economy or many of the policies pursued by the regime.

One policy that is of especial interest to people who worry about North Korea’s food situation is the Field Responsibility System (FRS). Introduced in 2014, it appears to mark a sea change in the country’s food production system.

Our major sources of knowledge are North Korean laws, the North Korean media, other official sources (including those in-country), as well as defector media.

But