Economy of North Korea

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Summary of Article This article shows the effect of the famine and UN sanctions would have and how this would affect the GDP of the country. Introduction The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has undergone a massive reconstruction and industrialization in a fanatic pace after the Korea War, supported by two of its huge neighbors, China and USSR mainly in the form of cheap oil, food and technology assistance. DPRK economy begins to shows signs of malfunctioning in its command economy system in the form of supply shortages, systemic inefficiency, mechanical obsolescence and infrastructural decay in the 1980s. They tried to solve the issues through its highly centralized ways of functioning, refusing to open up the economy or liberalize its economic management to foreign investment. This rigidity forces the economy towards stagnation. The country’s economy entered the worst phases, nearly collapsing in the 1990s. The disintegration of the Soviet Union followed by severe food crisis due to a series of natural disasters (hails in 1994, flooding in 1995-1996, and droughts in 1997) and mismanagement by the government pushed North Korea into a crisis that lasted till today. GDP of North Korea The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of North Korea is estimated at $33.3 billion (2013), a rise of 1.1 percent over the year 2012. In terms of GDP per capita, North Korea ranks at the 194 spot with its per capita GDP of $1,800 according to the CIA Factbook. As per the 2012 estimates, approximately 23.4 percent of GDP is contributed by agriculture, 47.2 percent by industry and 29.4 percent by services. The agricultural sector employs around 35 percent of the 12.6 million labor force. Agriculture on North Korea economy In North Korea only about 17% of the landmass is arable, the rest of the country is mountainous terrain. The main
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