North Korea’s soaring foreign exchange rate and inflation last year have been attributed to reinforced control by authorities.

According to a report by South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Institute(KDI) on Tuesday, the North Korean currency has traded at over 20-thousand won against the U.S. dollar since November, up around 160 percent from early 2024 figures.

While the exchange rate had been relatively stable at around eight-thousand won against the greenback since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took the helm, it started to rise in the latter half of 2023 before reaching 20-thousand late last year.

The report concluded that the won initially weakened as a result of rising demand for foreign currency amid increased trade post-pandemic, and the trend accelerated due to reduced supply after the North imposed new foreign exchange regulations last year.

Prices of rice and corn spiked 76 percent and 93 percent, respectively, despite satisfactory levels of production in 2023 and in 2024, which the KDI report attributed to the regime’s increased wages and prices, as well as grain distribution restrictions.

Growth of the North Korean economy, meanwhile, was forecast to continue trends seen in 2023, when it expanded three-point-one-percent.