Firewood and coal prices have doubled in North Korea’s Ryanggang province after a sudden cold snap, a local source said. Low-income families in Hyesan, Samjiyon and other highland areas now cannot afford to prepare for the 2026 winter.
“Temperatures in the Ryanggang highlands have plunged below freezing since late October,” the source told Daily NK on Wednesday. “The price of firewood and coal for winter heating keeps climbing, so people’s winter preparations have ground to a complete halt.”
Ryanggang province lies in North Korea’s mountainous interior along the Chinese border, where winter temperatures can fall close to -30 C (-22 F). Hyesan is the provincial capital, and Samjiyon is a showcase city near Mount Paektu. Kim Jong Un rebuilt Samjiyon as a model for his regional development policy.
According to the source, an oxcart load of firewood logs now costs about twice what it did a year ago. The same is true for a metric ton of brown coal or anthracite at markets in Hyesan’s Hyesin and Yonbong neighborhoods.
The jump follows soaring firewood prices in other border regions of the country. It shows how the cost of living crisis in North Korea’s economy is hitting heating fuel especially hard.
Households that live hand to mouth on daily earnings can barely buy enough firewood to last a single month. Families with young children face an especially cruel choice as the deepest cold approaches.
They must decide between padded cotton clothes and winter boots for their children or a few logs for the floor. Most North Korean homes rely on traditional underfloor heating fired by wood or coal in a kitchen furnace.
If these families buy firewood, their children risk frostbite in the coming months. If they buy winter clothing, the whole family must sleep on freezing floors through the night.
Despair is spreading among poor households, many of which already cannot afford plastic wind blockers for their doors and windows.
Forest closures and coal bottlenecks push firewood and coal prices higher
The source blamed the crisis on two main problems in Ryanggang province. “The authorities have completely banned people from entering the mountains to gather their own firewood, citing forest protection,” the source said.
“On top of that, coal from the mines cannot reach provincial cities because the distribution system is broken,” the source added. “Once merchants control the supply, nothing can stop firewood and coal prices from skyrocketing.”
The mountain ban stems from Kim Jong Un’s nationwide reforestation campaign against illegal logging. The drive aims to restore hills stripped bare by decades of fuel gathering and farming.
Coal supply problems persist even in years when coal briquette prices in North Korean markets fall. Sellers often buy cheap coal from mining enterprises and resell it to ordinary families at a markup.
Ryanggang officials, meanwhile, are reportedly piling on pressure under the slogan of “self-reliant winter preparation.” In practice, the slogan leaves each household to fend for itself while officials chase paperwork.
Provincial officials want to tell the central government that winter preparations are “100% complete” for all households. To that end, they have ordered every city and county to submit firewood certificates for each household by early November.
The certificates are gathered through neighborhood watch units, which are grassroots groups of about 20 to 40 households. The North Korean state uses these units to relay orders, mobilize labor and monitor the population.
Anger is growing among Ryanggang residents as officials focus on false reports instead of real relief measures. “People are pouring out their frustration over how the state treats them,” the source said.
“They say the state boasts about building fine homes and caring for people’s livelihoods,” the source continued. “But their floors are as cold as ice and whole families could freeze to death, and the state has never given them a single lump of coal.”
“Others ask whether the cold will simply go away if officials polish the outside of the city,” the source said.
The complaints echo frustration in the capital, where even new Pyongyang apartments have struggled with basic winter heating. Those problems persist despite Kim Jong Un’s high-profile housing construction campaign.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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November 6, 2026 at 10:55PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)