Coastal Cities, Port Activities and Logistic Constraints in a Socialist Developing Country: The Case of North Korea

Abstract

This paper analyses the interplay of transport and development in North Korea, one of the most state‐controlled and underdeveloped countries of the world. While broader aspects have been well described by various studies, logistics have been given little attention as permissive or restrictive factors in the country’s development. Despite the recent reforms and growth of trade, the development of North Korea is confronted to the weaknesses of the transport system and inland logistics. An analysis of vessel movements at North Korean ports (1985–2006) shows that although coastal economies may increasingly use maritime transport to overcome inland blockages, the evolution of port traffics better reflects broader trends such as a general economic decline, the westward shift of populations, and the polarization of economic activities around the Pyongyang area. Beside those trends, the research also estimates the importance of maritime transport to North Korean trade and it provides a base upon which further studies can be conducted, so as to evaluate better the place of North Korea among transport studies.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr Stanislas Roussin, General Manager at SERIC Corée (Seoul) (a graduate in Geo‐Economics at Le Havre University, France) for his useful comments. Thanks are also given for the useful comments of the referees.

Notes

1. A TEU is the universal measure of container traffic.

2. The major eastern cities represent 34% of the total urban population; while the eastern provinces of North and South Hamgyeong, Raseon, Yanggang, and Gangwon concentrate 32% of the country’s total population, according to recent estimates (Helders, 2007).