FOOD IN NORTH KOREA: QUANTITY, PRICES, CONTROLS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R011300360006-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 20, 2001
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: April 13, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT NO.
? e4 CD NO.
11,A
=
COUNTRY North Korea t DATE DISTR. 13 April 1952
SUBJECT Food in North Korea: Topmtity, prices, controls NO. OF PAGES 6
25X1A
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
25X1C
National Food Administration Bureau
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
25X1X
1. The National Food Administration Bureau is am important central administrative
organ of the North KoreA.7,1 government and enjoys a status equal to that of the
ministries in the North Korean cabinet, and the chief of the bureau is of cabinet
minister rank. The bureau consists of the following eight departments, one
section, and one office:
a, Departments: inspection Transportatipn
Accounting Taxes -in-kind
Planning Food Rationing
Storage Meat
b. Gr in Refining Office
c. Special Supply Section
2 Each of the above units has a chief and from two to eight assistants, The chief
of the bureau is EWON.Yong-t'ae, a North Korean Labor Party member from North
Ramgyong Province. He is assisted by one deputy chief. Since the outbreak of
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the war the office-has been in a school building for the Blind, _Deaf, and Mite
at Taet'aryong-samri (125-43, 39-01) (TD-3524), PicIngyang.
P'yongYang City Food Administration Bureau
3. The Pyongyang City People's Committee Food Administration Bureau is under the
direction of the chief of the National Food Administration Bureau in matters of
food administration. In routine office matters the department is under the
direction of the chairman of th9, City People's Committee. The Chief of the
department is KIM Man-pok ;4 4100 age 31, a native of North Haolgyong
Province, and a NKLP member. The deputy chief is IM RiOn-sik 21),
age 27, a native of North P'yongang Province, and a NKLP member. The depart-
ment consists of nine sections for accounting, statistics, storage, trans-
portation, taxes-in-kind, distribution, meat, refining, and inspection. Each
of these sections has a chief and from one to seven other employees.
4. The Pyongyang City Food Administration Department operates six Warehouse
centers, which includes 25 warehouses and three polishing mills. In these
warehouses, in late 1951, were stored 405,000 sacks, each containing 120
pounds of grain. Of this %amber 225,000 sacks were stored in warehouse center
Number 1, at Sonkyo-ri, P'yongyang, and 15 of the 25 warehouses were located
in this center. The three mills were polishing 1,500 tons of rice per month
and 1,950 tons of other grains.
5. There were 30 food ration stations in, ryOngyang it late 1951 and 124,000
owners of ration cards.1 The ration stations employed 12/ men, and the station
warehouses had a capacity of 17,700 sacks of grain and rice.
Rationing in Pyongyanq City
6. On 1 November 1951 the ration stations in P!Agyang were directed by the
P'yOjngyang Commerdial Control Office. Regulations, established by this office
specified that ration cards be issued to recipients of rations through
the food ration officer at their place of employment. The Cards bear the
names of a chief at the recipient's working place and the chief of the City
Food Administration Department. Recipients receive rations twice a month at
a ration station in the neighborhood where they live.
7. When a ration station requests grain, the City Food Administration Department
issues food delivery orders to a warehouse and simultaneously orders the Land
Transportation ?Mee to transport the grain to the station-.
8. Rations are determined, by the recipient's classification and number 61 famAy
members. Upon receiving_ rations, a ticket, showing the amount received, is
.taken at the station. If a recipient is sick or for other reasons absent,
rations for the absentee are deducted. A daily report showing the sales and
amount of grain yet in the station is prepared and submitted with a bank
deposit receipt to the City Food Administration Department and City Commercial
Control Office:. Furthermore, a semi-monthly statistical report iS submitted
to the foregoing two organizations.
9. Representatives of the National Inspection Ministry, North Korean Labor
Party, Food Administration Bureau, Food Administration Department, Police,
and Commercial Office inspect ration stations three or four times a week,
without giving notice, to check on dishonesty. They check the food rationed
by officials at the station and then check their records against warehouse
records. If there is a small difference in the records, the officials may
be requested to give only a written explanation, but if the difference is large,
they are prosecuted.
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10. Prices of rations, in P'yOngyang in late 1951 were:. rice 5 won. per one kilo-
gram, millet 4.56 won per kilogram, redbeans 4.09 won, rice 3.46 won, green
beans 5.11 won. Rations are 60 percent rice, 20 percent corn, and 20 percent
other grain. The quantity of grain established by the North Korean govern-
ment in late 1951 as. the daily ration to be issued various vocational groups,
and the numerical classification of the groups is shown in the chart below:
Classification
First class
Second class
Third class
Fourth class
Fifth class
Sixth class
Seventh class
Prisoners
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Vocational or
Social Group QTantity in grams
Mine workers 900
Heavy laborers, medical
doctors, and police men Boo
School teachers and
college students 700
Clerical Workers 600
Middle school students 500
Primary school students 400
Dependents 300
(These rations are of
grains other than rice) 300
11. In late 1951 neat was being distributed only the National Defense Ministry
for the armed forces, to the police, and to cabinet staff members. Each
month 240 tons of meat were being consumed; the National Defense Ministry
was taking 200 tons, the police 30 tons, and others 10 tons. Each soldier
was receiving 100 grans a day, and tank and air force men 200 grams a day.
The ration price of meat was 60 won per kilogram. Cows were purchased by
the Food Administration Bureau through consumers' guilds at 40 won a kilogram.
Every month 241 tons of beef were purchased: 70 tons in South Ply5ngan
Province, 30 tons in Wanghae Province, 90 tons in North P'yongan Province,
50 tons in Chagang.Province? and one ton in P'yoingyang City.
12. Vegetables grown in the neighborhood of P'yOngyang were being collected in
late 1951, as a tax-in-kind to be supplied to the armed forces and police.
In 1951, 8,000 tons of vegetables were collected and ten percent of this
crop was consumed by the armed forces and police.
Food Administration in. pizalomIsaa
13. In January 1952 the Food Administration Section of the P'yOngwgn*kun People's
Committee was in Tojang-ni (125-38, 39,-26) (TD-2768), The director was
KIM Kil-pok .2k4 ). The grain levy administered by this office in the
area of its jurisdiction in 1951 had taken 70 percent of the grain of the
farmer's harvest, or about 70,000 120-pound bags-. Rice made up the great
bulk of the grain collected, but small amounts of other grains were also
collected. A farmer having a poor crop year was compelled to buy enough
grain to make up the quota allotted to him. Under favorable conditions,
the average farmer had only a two month's supply of grain for his family
after paying the rice tax.
14, The Grain Warehouse inp'yZingwOn.!.kun, consisting of mineyarshouses, is
controlled by the Food Administration Section of the P'yongwon.kun People's
Committee. All the warehouses are underground. They are 35 meters long,
seven meters widp,and eight meters high, are made of logs#,and have ceilings
of 'paced earth. In mid-January 195grtbere were 45,000 bags of grain stored
in the warehouses. All grains collected in this county are brought to these
warehouses, except that which is allotted to the individual village for
rationing. The grain stored in the warehouses is tqen to mills to be cleaned;
then it is transported by trucks and horse-carts to ?pia Station (12539, 39-20)
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(YD-2857) from where it is shipped to various North Korean Army units
in the surrounding area.
Eaesong Area
15. In December 1951, at Kaesong, some of the necessities of life were found on
the open market, but there were not enough to meet the demands of the in-
habitants;- Following is a price list of some major items:
Rice, per large mal2
Soy beaps, per large mal
Red beans, per large mal
Oxen, per-animal
8,000 ROK won
3,800 ROK won
8,000 ROK won
350,000 ROK won
The money exchange rate for civilians was one North Korean won to four ROK
won, and for soldiers the exchange rate was one North Korean to eight ROK
won.
16. On 9 December 1951, two North Korean and eight Chinese Communist soldiers were
observed exchanging two quarts of rice for 25 pounds of radishes, two quarts
of rice for seven cakes of rice dough, one gallon of rice for one and one
25X1X third pounds of cookies, and three gallons of rice for one and one third
pounds of pork.
17. The following list reflects the effect of the war on the price of grains on the
free market in NOrthwest Korea; prices given are for one small male of the
grain listed in North Korean won.
Item.
Rice
Millet
Wheat
Corn
Barley
Pre-war
800 won
600 won
500 won
400 won
350 won
122
3,500 von
3,100 won
1,T00 von
1,200 won
900 won
Collection of Taxes-in-kind
18. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been directing:tbe collection of
taxes-in-kind and determining the production targets in conjunction with the
Fotd-Administration Bureau.3 Two types of taxes-in-kind are collected: 'the
first crop or early crop-tax-inArind and the second crop or late crop tax-
in-kind. The following figures represent total amount of grains collected
as taxesin-kind throughout North Korea between 1948 and 1951:
Year
Zal.n.a...s2
Percentage levied
on rice harvest
Percentage levied on the
barvest of otherlrains
1948
337,260
Between 10 and 40
Between 25 and 30
1949
354,150
Between 10 and 40
Between 25 and 45
1950
155,600
Between 10 and 60
Between 25 apia 60
1951
6740520
Between 50 and 6o
Between 50 and 70
The sharp drop in 1950 was
the large increase in 1951
armed forces.
caused by extensive United Nation \advances) and
was caused by the increased reqUircMents few the
Effect of War and Future prospects
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19. The North-Kbrean Food Administration Bureau prepared for the war with South
Korea. Prior to June 1950 all the warehouses in Pticingyang were filled with
about 27,000 tons of polished and unpolished rice and grain. Eawever? in
August 1950 the government was short of polished rice. To meet this situation,
all local ?mills were ordered to polish rice, and trucks and ox carts were
mobilized to transport food. In early September L9501 130,000 sacks of un-
polished-grain were moved to the outskirts of P'yongyang for protection against
United Nation air raids. The lack of proper storage facilities cause& from
300 to 500 sacks of grain to spoil a year. SpoiTad grain was generally dis-
tributed to breweries. United Nations air strikes have destroyed many ware-
houses and other storage facilities, so that now most grain is stored in the
open and the spoilage of grain has trebled.
20. Because of the increase in consumption of grain by the North Korean armed
forces since the beginning of the war, shortages have developed. Before the
war, 850 tons of grain were used by the National Defense Ministry, the police,
and cabinet staff members, but this figure swelled to 1,500 tons per month
after hostilities began, and by October 1951 the total had increased to 2,000
tons. In 1952 the North Korean. Army will consume 1,000 tons per month more
than they did in 1951, and the Chinese Communists, who consumed from 1,000
tons to 2,000 tons per month in the past, will need 1,400 tons per month in
1952.
21. One reason the food situation became critical in North Korea was that some
local tax-in-kind warehouses were requisitioned by the Chinese Communist
forces in 1950 and 1951. The Chinese Communists had planned to bring their
own-foodan they entered Korea, but they were unable to implement this
intention because of poor transportation facilities. The Chinese planned to
bring grain into Korea frOm ManOhuria to replace food taken by them; however
by December 1951 no grain had been imported for this purpose. The Chinese
Communists seized 3,000 tons of grain in local warehouses between October
and late December 1950, and between January and November 1951 they requisi-
tioned 50,000 tons of grain. The grain was taken illegally without payment
or official arrangements.
22. It is estimated. that approximately 1,500 to 2;000sacks. of grain will completely
decay and 50,000 packs willnhalfdecay:in 1952 because of poor storage
facilities. To meet this shortage; the-Commnnistsaplanto iMport'about1D0,000
tone of grain frOm-Mannhuria, at the Ministry of Industry haa already issted
direntiona-to prepare exahangengoods for'theimpOrts. About 1,700,000 straw
baganwill be nolIectedfrot North'Koreana:to package the grain so imported.
The Chinese Communists claim their forces will not be allotted any of this
23. Incessant movement of food handling organizations, damage caused by changes
in the front line, and United Nation air strikes have made it impossible
to continue centralized food administration in North Korea. For these reasons
food administration will be localized in 1952. Each provincial governor will
assume all responsibilities for food administration and will have to fulfill
production targets designated by the central government.
24. Collective farms will be formed in 1952 in North Korea to raise labor efficiency.
The types of grains to be sown will be designated to remedy more effectively
shortages in certain types of food. In 1951 several villages pooled their
resources and tried the collective system. The farmers lived and worked
together and prepared their food in collective kitchens. The experiments
failed to produce desirable results in the five areas of experiment because
of poor instructors and a shortage of physically fit labor; 90 percent of the
farmers were old men, women, and children. At a meeting of the Provincial
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Food Arbenistration Department heads, held to plaa the collection of straw
bag containers; it was stated that the collective farm system will be gradually
put into force throughout the country beginning in 1952. The system will be
placed into effect when the National Planning Committee agrees with the
Ministry-of Agriculture and Forestry on exact measures to be taken. There is
also a possibility that the collection of taxes-in-kind will be slightly
lightened in 1952.
Marine Products Prod
tion and Administration
ne.
25. Prior to 1 December 1951 the Fisheries Control Bureau was under the Fisheries
Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, but on 1 September the
Standing Committee of the North Korean Cabinet decided to make the Fisheries
Bureau independent and subject only to the cabinet. All business formerly
handled by the Fisheries Department was transferred to the Bureau. The Bureau
was located in Chungsk6ng-ni ( ), P'yeingyang, in late 1951.
26. The bureau controls the following organizations; the number of branches of each
of these sections or independent agencies in various parts of North Korea is
also shown:
27
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Fishery office
Fishery experimental stations
Fishery schools
Shipbuilding yards
Barrel manufacturing works
17 Net works 1
3 Agar...agar works 1
4 Fishing implement works 1
10 Semi-private fishery companies
2 231
North Korean fishing villages and factory facilities have been severely damaged
by United Nations air and naval bombardment; nevertheless; the government has
had to depend on the fishery industry for much of its food supply and is
making great efforts to rehabilitate that industry. In early 1952 priority
was being given loans for the reconstruction of damaged fishing facilities
by the National Bark. Employees of fishing enterprises are exempted from
labor mobilization. Because of the United Nations blockade of the East Coast,
the lakes of South liamgyong Province have been exploited for fish production
more thoroughly than usual. The production quota for 1950 was 800,000 tons
of sea food and the North Korean fishermen caught 920,000 tons. However,
the war caused the government to lower the quota for 1951 to 36;400 tons of
fish.
1. 1111.111a_mmelat..v This number of ration cards seems excessive for the popu-
lation of P'yongyang, Was 500;000 in 1950, and since the war many Koreans
have evacuated the city because of boMbing? while other P' ongyang residents
fled south with United Nations forces according to 25X1A
25X1A 2, Comment. A large mal of rice is about one-half bushel, or 30 pounds,
an a small mal is half that amount.
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ImillumnaL. For a more detailed account of taxes in-kind and. other
details b721. the food situation in North Korea see
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