{"id":12609,"date":"2026-05-11T13:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/12609\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T13:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:41:08","slug":"north-korea-fuel-shortage-forces-farm-workers-to-till-by-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/12609\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea fuel shortage forces farm workers to till by hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tractor,<\/a>A tractor on a farm in North Korea. (Image: Todd Mecklem, Creative Commons, Flickr)<\/p>\n

Fuel<\/a> shortages are forcing farm<\/a> workers<\/a> on North Korean collective farms<\/a> to till fields<\/a> by hand during the spring planting season of 2026, raising concerns about potential harvest shortfalls later in the year.<\/p>\n

A Daily NK source in North Pyongan province reported on Friday that \u201cthe government<\/a> has issued instructions to prioritize fuel and electricity<\/a> supplies to farms for the planting season, but many farms cannot secure even the minimum amount of fuel needed to run their machinery.\u201d<\/p>\n

North Korea routinely orders priority fuel allocations to farms during the planting and harvest seasons, distributing supplies through state-run fuel outlets. In practice, however, those allocations fall well short of actual needs, leaving farms to source fuel independently through markets<\/a>. For farms in remote areas, accessing those markets is itself a challenge, and the cost of transporting purchased fuel adds another layer of difficulty.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarms closer to county seats are in somewhat better shape, but the more remote the area, the harder it<\/a> is to get fuel,\u201d the source said. \u201cAnd even when fuel can be found, the transportation<\/a> costs have to be factored in \u2014 so many farms can\u2019t even consider running machinery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planting delayed as fuel prices surge<\/p>\n

The situation has worsened in recent months as market<\/a> fuel prices<\/a> have surged sharply, pushing the cost of running agricultural machinery beyond what many farms can afford. Some farms have abandoned the use of machinery altogether. The source said that after purchasing essential agricultural supplies such as plastic sheeting, seeds, and tools, farms have no remaining budget to secure fuel at current market prices.<\/p>\n

According to the source, farms in remote border<\/a> areas including Pyokdong county and Sakju county in North Pyongan province, and Usi county in Jagang<\/a> province, have been particularly hard hit. With insufficient fuel, farm workers are carrying out plowing and harrowing by hand and with livestock<\/a> \u2014 work<\/a> that would normally be done by tractor. \u201cWork that a tractor could finish in a single day now takes people several days,\u201d the source said. \u201cBecause there\u2019s no fuel, people end up pulling plows like oxen.\u201d<\/p>\n

With plowing, fertilizer application, and paddy field preparation all falling to manual labor<\/a>, the physical burden on farm workers has increased dramatically. Workers on the ground have expressed open frustration, with complaints that conditions are \u201ckilling people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvest risks and pressure from above<\/p>\n

The consequences extend beyond worker hardship. Delays caused by manual labor risk pushing planting past the optimal window, which could reduce yields at harvest time. North Korean authorities are aware of this risk and have been pressing farms through propaganda<\/a> and ideological campaigns to complete planting on schedule \u2014 a burden that falls squarely on farm workers already stretched to their limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe authorities emphasize mechanization, but in reality there\u2019s no fuel to run the machines, and the farm workers are suffering for it,\u201d the source said. \u201cIf things continue like this, even if planting is somehow completed through forced manual labor, there will inevitably be problems with the harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information<\/a> through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media<\/a>, satellite<\/a> imagery, or defector<\/a> accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital<\/a> offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report<\/a> on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge<\/a> between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tractor on a farm in North Korea. (Image: Todd Mecklem, Creative Commons, Flickr) Fuel shortages are forcing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3416,6105,5470,2593,9258,31,9393,9392,6103],"class_list":{"0":"post-12609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-korea","8":"tag-electricity","9":"tag-farming","10":"tag-food","11":"tag-food-shortages","12":"tag-jagang-province","13":"tag-korea","14":"tag-mobilization","15":"tag-north-pyongan-province","16":"tag-workers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}