Pork has become one of the most expensive staples in North Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with prices now so high that ordinary North Korean people can rarely afford to eat it even once a year.
According to Daily NK’s regular survey of North Korean market prices, one kilogram of pork sold for 159,000 North Korean won in Pyongyang, 158,100 won in Sinuiju in North Pyongan province and 159,200 won in Hyesan in Ryanggang province as of Aug. 30, the highest figures recorded since the outlet began tracking prices.
Pork prices have climbed steadily over the past seven to eight years. The average price in Pyongyang was 13,277 won per kilogram in 2018, meaning current prices are roughly 12 times higher.
The primary driver behind the surge is African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious viral disease that began spreading widely in North Korea in 2019. Mass pig deaths, including among breeding sows needed to sustain herds, badly weakened the country’s pig farming base, according to analysts.
North Korea reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health, the intergovernmental body that tracks animal disease outbreaks worldwide, on May 30, 2019, that ASF had broken out at the Buksang Cooperative Farm in Usi county, Jagang province. Of the 99 pigs at the farm, 77 died and the remaining 22 were culled.
The disease subsequently spread nationwide, killing pigs at both state farms and in private households, sources say. Before the outbreak, many North Korean families raised pigs at home to supplement their income, but such household pig farming has become rare even in rural areas.
A source in Ryanggang province said the amount of money needed to buy one kilogram of pork today could instead buy about 3.5 kilograms of rice or nine kilograms of corn, putting pork out of reach for North Korean people without significant disposable income.
As a result, many North Korean people now turn to cheaper chicken or duck meat for holidays and birthdays instead of pork. Those in more vulnerable circumstances often substitute even chicken or duck with soy-based imitation meat, the source said.
ASF is endemic in the country
Private consumption of beef is tightly restricted in North Korea, which has long made pork the default meat for special occasions among North Korean people. With pork prices also climbing out of reach, the range of meat available to ordinary households has narrowed further.
Cho Chung-hee, director of Good Farmers’ research institute, which focuses on North Korean agriculture and food security, told Daily NK that pig numbers fell sharply after the 2019 ASF outbreak and that breeding has yet to properly recover. He said ASF has since become endemic in North Korea, meaning outbreaks could recur at any time in any region.
Cho added that recovering the pig farming industry would require improved breeding stock, stronger disinfection and quarantine systems and expanded grain feed supplies. But he said diverting corn to animal feed is difficult when the grain is already in short supply for human consumption, meaning North Korea would need to import feed corn separately, a costly step given the country’s current economic situation.
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September 11, 2026 at 11:02PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)