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Ok-Welder-4816 t1_ja651fd wrote

Reply to comment by Nopants_Jedi in North Korea holds rare meeting on farming amid food shortage by NCGuy257

But their population is also very rural and spread out, with little travel or interaction outside of local communities (you need a travel pass to even leave your village), and demographics that skew young.

Although the military could be an important vector due to their omnipresence and relative mobility. But they're also all young and relatively fit.

I would think the elites, living their somewhat more modern lives in Pyongyang, would be the most at risk. I assume only the very very elite (i.e. Kim and friends) have access to the kind of healthcare needed to offset the risk of living in an urban setting.

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LuangPrabangisinLaos t1_ja92q3p wrote

It's a centralized economy with a black market. Ultimately all communities intermingle, and every village has weekly meetings for self criticism.

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Ok-Welder-4816 t1_jaa678o wrote

Sure, some brave folks are involved in the black market, but not most people.

They still have less interaction overall.

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djokov t1_jac3nzb wrote

Incorrect, most people are involved in some sort of black market trade. The North Korean jangmadang are not like typical black markets and many North Koreans depend on their existence. The NK government on the whole tends to tolerate the markets, though they impose regulations on some goods and restrict who are allowed to work in vendor stalls.

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