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June 17, 2025Jun 17, 2025

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Ward

Peter Ward

Peter Ward is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute. His work focuses on North Korean politics, the economy and society. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna.

Analysis

North Korea’s economy and the coronavirus: current fallout and future unknowns

The DPRK has experienced a supply shock in its food and fuel markets, with greater impact likely further down the line

Peter WardPeter WardMarch 18, 2020
Analysis

North Korean official claims about child nutrition: what the data shows

Data suggests remarkable improvement since the late 1990s, despite stagnant levels of food supply per capita

Peter WardPeter WardFebruary 13, 2020
Analysis

Kim Jong Un’s claims of a “bumper harvest” in North Korea: what the data shows

Market data indicates food prices remain low and stable, could support DPRK leadership's claims

Peter WardPeter WardJanuary 17, 2020
Analysis

“Belt-tightening” ahead? The North Korean economy at the party plenum

Concrete details were thin on the ground, though the state's new "Prospective Goals" are worth watching

Peter WardPeter WardJanuary 6, 2020
Analysis

North Korea’s exchange rate regime: understanding a silent revolution

Since 2013, 'three-and-a-half' rates, including a previously illegal market exchange rate, have entered into use

Peter WardPeter WardDecember 27, 2019
Analysis

North Korea’s Central Bank: lender, regulator, and inflation fighter

Relatively unimportant before marketization, the Central Bank's rise reflects the increasing power of money in the DPRK

Peter WardPeter WardNovember 14, 2019
Analysis

Strengthening state control, North Korea partially scraps foreign trade reforms

Recent revisions to Foreign Trade Act point to a rollback of key planks in the Kim Jong Un-era reform agenda

Peter WardPeter WardOctober 29, 2019
Analysis

This is what sanctions enforcement looks like: maximum pressure and prices

Data reveals the wider impact of an effective oil embargo in late 2017

Peter WardPeter WardSeptember 15, 2019
Analysis

The North Korean oil market: an analysis of the data

Trends indicate fuel prices remain relatively stable and only loosely linked to global prices

Peter WardPeter WardAugust 27, 2019
Analysis

How the North Korean state could make life easier for the “Donju”

DPRK policymakers have a range of ways to expand opportunities for the entrepreneurial class

Peter WardPeter WardJuly 18, 2019