Ration-based N. Korea building rare wholesale market in Pyongyang
North Korea's Premier Pak Thae-song, center, inspects the construction site for a central wholesale exchange market under construction in Pyongyang's Hwasong district, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency, June 10. Yonhap
North Korea, a socialist economy that relies on rationing as the main means of goods distribution, is building a rare large-scale wholesale market in Pyongyang, according to state media.
In an article published the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said North Korea's Premier Pak Thae-song visited the construction site of a central wholesale exchange market being built in Pyongyang's Hwasong district.
Hwasong, located in northern Pyongyang, is where North Korea is currently completing a newly built residential town.
During the visit, Pak was briefed by builders on the construction progress and plans for finishing the work and discussed necessary measures, the KCNA noted.
The wholesale exchange market under construction is presumed to serve as a venue where producers and consumers can directly conduct transactions.
It is rare for North Korea, where rationing is the official channel for goods distribution, to establish such a marketplace in the capital.
Pak's visit to its construction site can be seen as a sign of the regime's willingness to tolerate the marketplace and incorporate it into the official economy, presumably to boost tax revenues and tighten control over the underground economy, where such markets have long operated unofficially.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at South Korea's Korea Institute for National Unification, said wholesale markets have operated for decades in other major North Korean cities, including Chongjin and Hamhung, but the regime has treated them very cautiously due to their market-oriented elements.
The establishment of a central wholesale market in Pyongyang may signal the regime's willingness to recognize the already prevalent marketplaces to some extent and manage them within legal and institutional frameworks, he noted.