University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

The North Korean economic decline in the 1990s reveals a complex food and energy shortage problem. Inadequate energy supplies are an immediate cause of this agricultural collapse, and the energy shortage must be resolved in order to reach a sustainable recovery.

Hayes, Von Hippel and Williams explore the origins and impacts of the rural energy shortage, and suggest that international cooperation is necessary to resolve North Korea’s energy and food crises.