This is the first article in a three-part series on infrastructure risks in North Korea.

North Korean state media has been increasingly transparent about the problems the country is facing from draconian COVID-19 restrictions implemented early last year. As challenges continue to mount, there is increasing concern in the international community that a major humanitarian crisis is imminent.

Of course, North Korean citizens are already used to life under significant hardship, comprehensive international sanctions and a leadership that commands control over nearly every inch of their lives. 

But an extreme weather situation, an