North Korea instructed grocery store managers across the country in early February to strictly follow government guidelines for the purchase, sale, and storage of goods, with the Sinchon county people's committee among those delivering the orders via provincial, municipal, and county people's committees.
The regulations appear aimed at reinforcing discipline in the state-run distribution sector in line with the regime's 20×10 regional development policy. A source in South Hwanghae province, who requested anonymity for security reasons, confirmed the directive to Daily NK recently.
Under the new rules, stores are required to calculate how much of each product is sourced locally versus elsewhere when making purchases. The regulations also specify the conditions under which stores may replace an unprofitable product, removing discretion from individual managers.
Sales procedures have been tightened as well. Stores must now standardize price tags and document the reasons for any price changes. Arbitrary discounting and product bundling are banned, though clearance sales are permitted up to a defined threshold.
On the storage side, the regulations introduce a first-ever cap on the percentage of goods that may be disposed of. Store managers will be held fully accountable for any deliberate omissions or falsified disposal records. Responsibility for problems arising during transportation is also clearly assigned, though managers who can objectively demonstrate that an issue stemmed from unavoidable causes are exempt.
The Sinchon county people's committee urged store managers to "get their act together," ordered immediate implementation of the new procedures, and announced that quarterly inspections would begin in the spring quarter.
The tighter rules are already causing concern among managers.
"In the past, store managers have met government quotas with goods from the gray market, but it doesn't look like that will fly anymore," the source said. "Managers aren't sure whether it will be possible to meet government quotas if they follow state-mandated procedures and use goods provided by the state."
