North Korea’s food distribution system is at a crossroads. Markets have come to dominate the food distribution system, with traders involved at every level of the supply chain. The government is not happy about this and has tried a broad range of methods to try to stamp them out, with little success in the past.

Now, however, leader Kim Jong Un is seemingly implementing a new scheme: not only importing considerable quantities of grain but reportedly raising procurement prices for farmers as well. This creates greater incentives for farmers to sell their output directly to the