North Korean Statistics and Research on the North Korean Economy
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A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Lee, Suk; Cho, Byungkoo Research Report North Korean statistics and research on the North Korean economy Dialogue on the North Korea Economy, No. April 2021 Provided in Cooperation with: Korea Development Institute (KDI), Sejong Suggested Citation: Lee, Suk; Cho, Byungkoo (2021) : North Korean statistics and research on the North Korean economy, Dialogue on the North Korea Economy, No. April 2021, Korea Development Institute (KDI), Sejong This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/234188 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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If not, how do overseas researchers conduct their studies? and If so, can we trust Interviewer them? What statistics are published by the Cho, Byungkoo (Senior Fellow at KDI) South Korean government and other global institutions? The list goes on, but no one has Interviewee come up with a conclusive answer. Lee, Suk (Senior Fellow at KDI) This is why we chose North Korean statistics as the first topic of the new series. Numerous questions were dealt with on the topic and their significance for studies on the North Korean economy. We hope you find this article useful and informative. KDI's Dialogue on the North Korean Economy is a monthly series that features interviews with the foremost experts on North Korea. The first publication was released in March 2021 in connection with the KDI Review of the North Korean Economy. Each edition tackles a different facet of the North Korean economy, and offers valuable insight into prominent issues and aspects. The views and opinions expressed by the contributors are their own, and do not reflect the official views and position of KDI. - KDI Review of the North Korean Economy Board of Editors Dialogue on the North Korea Economy North Korean Statistics and Research on the North Korean Economy of four phases: the first starts from Korea’s this phase is that statistics were regularly liberalization from Japan in 1945 to 1960; published in North Korea during this pe- the second is from 1961 to the end of the riod. For example, in the appendix for the 1980s; the third from 1990 to 1995; and the Korean Central Yearbook, a major offi- last is from 1996 onwards. cial publication, you can find statistics on a Let’s begin with the first phase. North wide range of areas including demograph- Korea declared itself a socialist economy, ics and industrial output, among others. and thus, adopted the principles of social- Although they are not detailed, neverthe- ism for the economy, politics, and many less, they were a recurring feature. Lat- other areas. Statistics were no exception, er, the statistics were separately compiled and were compiled and published based on and published under the title DPRK Col- the same fundamentals. The first aspect of lection of Statistical Data on the Develop- | Table 1 | Major Contents of the DPRK Collection of Statistical Data on the Development of the People’s Economy No. of statistical Classification Main contents charts Natural conditions, administrative divisions, demographic compo- Overview sition of urban and rural areas, growth in gross social output val- 22 ue, growth in national budget and imports, price index, etc. Availability of North Korean Statistics: Changes and Features by Period No. of state/cooperative factories and enterprises, growth in gross industrial output value, growth in gross industrial output Industry 13 value by sector, state/cooperative factories’ production of major industrial goods, etc. Cho, Byungkoo Q. Land reform in northern republic, arable land size, sown land size, Agricultural economy 44 Before we begin, I would like to thank Dr. Lee, Director of the KDI Office of North Korean apple production by province, forestation, etc. Economic Studies, for his participation. To lead us off, let us examine the statistics from and Transportation Growth in transportation vehicles, growth in passenger travel by 9 research on North Korea. So, Dr. Lee, what are your thoughts on North Korean statistics? & postal services transportation method, workload of postal services, etc. Contrary to the general opinion that there is no such thing, do they exist or are we, the Government investments into basic construction, government Basic construction investments into basic construction by sector, home construc- 10 outside world, simply unaware? Also, if they do exist, how has ‘availability’ changed over tion, share of modular building construction, etc. time? No. of employees, no. of employees/technicians/experts by eco- Labor 8 nomic sector, etc. Lee, Suk No. of commercial networks of state/cooperative organizations, retail value of distributed goods, retail price indices, levels of dis- Goods distribution 15 tribution costs of commercial goods from state/cooperative or- First and foremost, it is an honor to be the first interviewee for the new Dialogue series. It ganizations, etc. is especially meaningful that you, Dr. Cho, my predecessor, are conducting this interview. Al- Growth in total trade, composition of exports by item, composi- External trade 3 though I have talked about North Korean statistics on many occasions, I will dive deeper tion of imports by item into the issue today, and offer more details. Education, culture, No. of schools by class, no. of colleges/universities by province, no. of movie theaters by province, total no. of publications and 32 To your first question about the existence of North Korean statistics, the most accurate public health circulation, no. of public health institutes and medical doctors, etc. answer would be “sometimes.” In other words, it is erratic and depends on the circumstances Note: Lee, Suk, North Korean Statistics: Availability and Reliability, recited from Korea Institute for National Unification (2007). and point in time. To present a clearer picture, we need to divide by period. There are a total Source: Central Bureau of Statistics of DPRK Central Planning Commission, DPRK Collection of Statistical Data on the Development of the People’s Economy, Pyongyang: National Publishing Co. 1961. 02 03 Dialogue on the North Korea Economy North Korean Statistics and Research on the North Korean Economy of four phases: the first starts from Korea’s this phase is that statistics were regularly liberalization from Japan in 1945 to 1960; published in North Korea during this pe- the second is from 1961 to the end of the riod. For example, in the appendix for the 1980s; the third from 1990 to 1995; and the Korean Central Yearbook, a major offi- last is from 1996 onwards. cial publication, you can find statistics on a Let’s begin with the first phase. North wide range of areas including demograph- Korea declared itself a socialist economy, ics and industrial output, among others. and thus, adopted the principles of social- Although they are not detailed, neverthe- ism for the economy, politics, and many less, they were a recurring feature. Lat- other areas. Statistics were no exception, er, the statistics were separately compiled and were compiled and published based on and published under the title DPRK Col- the same fundamentals. The first aspect of lection of Statistical Data on the Develop- | Table 1 | Major Contents of the DPRK Collection of Statistical Data on the Development of the People’s Economy No. of statistical Classification Main contents charts Natural conditions, administrative divisions, demographic compo- Overview sition of urban and rural areas, growth in gross social output val- 22 ue, growth in national budget and imports, price index, etc. Availability of North Korean Statistics: Changes and Features by Period No. of state/cooperative factories and enterprises, growth in gross industrial output value, growth in gross industrial output Industry 13 value by sector, state/cooperative factories’ production of major industrial goods, etc. Cho, Byungkoo Q. Land reform in