"North Korea's Service Industry Grows Fastest... Bathhouses, Restaurants, Photo Studios Flourish"

KDI to Release 'North Korean Economic Review' on the 30th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] It has been claimed that the fastest-growing industry within North Korea is the service industry.

Lee Seok-ki, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, explained in his research report titled "North Korea's Industry and Enterprises: Facts, Concepts, and Trends," published on the 30th in the Korea Development Institute (KDI) North Korean Economic Review, that aside from exports and mining, the core industry that has revived North Korea's economy is the service industry. He specifically noted that commerce such as bathhouses, restaurants, and photo studios continues to expand.

He also analyzed that the North Korean government is allocating more resources than before to light industry and technology-intensive industries utilizing science and technology, rather than heavy chemical industries, which are difficult to achieve results in considering fiscal investment capacity and technological levels.

The research fellow evaluated, "Fundamentally, North Korea is pursuing a growth strategy centered on technology-driven industries focused on export processing industries and informatization industries." They aim to catch up through some technology-intensive industries like software rather than export processing industries.

He also analyzed that North Korean enterprises are somewhat recovering their supply responsiveness. In the past, once an industry was determined, North Korea operated only within that industry, but now that is no longer necessary.

Finally, he analyzed that, theoretically, investment in North Korean enterprises is impossible. He explained that especially in the service industry, since turnover is high, facility investment is unnecessary, so capital can simply be lent and repaid, whereas manufacturing is in a sluggish state.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.