International energy assistance needs and options for the Democratic Peopleʹs Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Recent agreements between the Democratic Peopleʹs Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the other countries involved in the six-party talks on the future of the DPRKʹs nuclear weapons program have focused attention on the North Korean energy sector, and, specifically, what the international community can or should do to assist the DPRK in energy sector redevelopment. During two visits to North Korea in 1998 and 2000, a team of American and North Korean researchers conducted a unique rural energy use survey in a flood-affected rural village in the DPRK—the farming village of Unhari. The information gathered during the survey has important implications on how to properly approach the ongoing rural energy crisis in the DPRK, and, more broadly, to provide overall energy sector assistance. The results of the Unhari survey are described briefly, followed by suggestions of internal policy and legal reforms, approaches to international cooperation, key and attractive energy sector technologies and processes for energy sector redevelopment in the DPRK.