Surging inflation in North Korea has some people complaining that they need to carry a backpack full of cash just to go shopping, residents in the reclusive country told Radio Free Asia. Despite government attempts to tightly control prices, the cost of many items on informal markets called jangmadang, which became part of the economy after the famine that hit North Korea in the 1990s, have steadily risen. North Korean authorities initially forbid jangmadang, but they gradually allowed the markets because they provided a means for people to survive. Many…
Backpacks for carrying cash: Surging inflation in North Korea hits residents hard
