North Korea Eyes Slice of Russian Market Long Dominated by China
March 2nd, 2026
Via Daily NK, a report on China’s interest in Russian markets: North Korea’s ruling party instructed the cabinet’s Ministry of External Economic Relations in early February to pursue a new strategy aimed at securing a foothold in industrial sectors of the Russian market currently dominated by Chinese companies, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK recently. The instructions came from the Economic Department of the Workers’ Party […]
Read more »North Korea’s Elite Ponghak Beer Appears In Chinese Market In Search of Foreign Currency
January 19th, 2026
Via the Daily NK, a report that North Korea’s elite Ponghak Beer is entering the Chinese market seeking foreign currency: North Korea’s Ponghak Beer, the beer of choice among North Korea’s elite, has appeared in the Chinese market. Alongside Taedonggang Beer, which was already widely known, and Tumangang Beer, an emerging contender actively promoted by […]
Read more »Market Chaos In North Korea: Currency Crisis Devastates Trade
September 2nd, 2025
Via Daily NK, an article on how a currency crisis is devastating North Korean trade: A wave of inflation is crushing North Korean markets as exchange rates soar and the local currency plummets. The dollar’s value has jumped 20-30% virtually overnight, throwing market merchants into turmoil. Yet instead of giving traders more freedom to adapt, authorities are tightening their grip on market activities. […]
Read more »North Korea’s Processed Goods Push Meets China’s Cold Market Reality
August 31st, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a report on how Chinese traders want North Korean companies to continue to export raw materials, which conflicts with the North Korean regime’s policy of exporting processed goods: As North Korea seeks to develop its economy by exporting more processed goods, Chinese buyers still prefer raw materials, putting North Korean traders in a pickle. “Trading companies that work with China in […]
Read more »North Korea’s Glossy New Surface: Apps, Beaches and a Fake Starbucks
August 25th, 2025
Courtesy of the New York Times, a report on some videos taken by visitors to North Korea provide a rare glimpse of how it’s mimicking the consumerism of the outside world: North Korea is taking inspiration from the West. In Pyongyang, elites drink coffee at a fake Starbucks and pay by mobile phone. About 100 […]
Read more »China Trade With North Korea Jumps As Neighbors Rebuild Economic Ties
July 21st, 2025
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at increasing trade between China and North Korea: Economic exchanges between China and North Korea are picking up, with cross-border train service set to resume and bilateral trade between January and June jumping roughly 30% on the year. China’s exports to North Korea in the first half of 2025 grew […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.