Author: Government of DPRK
Publisher: DPRK
Year of Publication: June 2021
Page Count: 63 pages
Voluntary National Review(VNR)_on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda_DPRK
ACRONYMS............................................................................................................................3
OPENING STATEMENT............................................................................................................5
HIGHLIGHTS ...........................................................................................................................6
1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................7
2 METHODOLOGY AND PROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF THE REVIEW .........................7
3 POLICY AND ENABLING ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................8
(A) (B) (C) (D) CREATING OWNERSHIP OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND VNRS ....................................... 8
INCORPORATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN NATIONAL FRAMEWORK ........................... 8
INTEGRATION OF THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS ........................................ 11
LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND ............................................................................................................. 11
(E) INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS ........................................................................................................ 11
4 PROGRESS ON GOALS AND TARGETS ...................................................................... 12
4.1 GOAL 1. IMPROVING PEOPLE’S LIVELIHOOD ..................................................................................... 12
4.1.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 12
4.1.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 15
4.2 GOAL 2. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF FOOD ............................... 15
4.2.1 Progress and Challenges ............................................................................................ 15
4.2.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 17
4.3 GOAL 3. ENSURE HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTE WELL-BEING FOR ALL ................................................... 18
4.3.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 18
4.3.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 21
4.4 GOAL 4. PREPARE ALL AS INTELLIGENT WORKERS .............................................................................. 21
4.4.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 21
4.4.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 23
4.5 GOAL 5. CONSOLIDATE GENDER EQUALITY AND RIGHTS OF ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS .................................. 23
4.5.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 23
4.5.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 24
4.6 GOAL 6. ENSURE SUSTAINABLE USE AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION ............................... 25
4.6.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 25
4.6.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 25
4.7 GOAL 7. ENSURE ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE AND MODERN ENERGY FOR ALL ............................................. 27
4.7.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 27
4.7.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 28
4.8 GOAL 8. ESTABLISH SELF-RELIANT AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY, AND ENSURE WORK FOR ALL ........... 29
4.8.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 29
4.8.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 31
4.9 GOAL 9. PUT NATIONAL ECONOMY ON A JUCHE-ORIENTED AND SCIENTIFIC BASIS AND MODERNIZE
INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................................................................. 32
4.9.1 Progress and challenges ............................................................................................. 32
4.9.2 Plans ........................................................................................................................... 34
HIGHLIGHTS
The 2021 DPRK VNR is the first report submitted to the HLPF by the Government, illustrating the
policies and efforts, challenges and priority plans of the Government to achieve SDGs in succession
of MDGs.
The 2030 Agenda which is more comprehensive than the Millennium Declaration, announced 17
goals and 169 targets, covering all the sectors of economy, social and environment, and UN
published the methodologies related to implementing the 2030 Agenda, 232 indicators measuring
progress towards SDGs implementation and the guidelines for preparation of VNR.
Based on the experiences of localizing and implementing the MDGs, the DPRK Government has
established the country specific SDGs through integration of the 2030 Agenda into NDGs and in line
with the relevant national laws and regulations.
The NTF, chaired by Vice Premier and Chairman of the State Planning Commission (SPC),
completed the SDGs nationalization in close collaboration with all the line agencies and coordinates
implementation of the national SDGs. The TC under the NTF integrates and estimates data by
indicator measuring the progress towards implementation of the goals through national statistical
system.
The national SDGs framework consists 17 goals, 95 targets and 132 indicators, reflecting the
Government’s priorities.
Same as the MDGs localization, the NTF has localized the global SDG 1 for ending poverty as the
continuous improvement of people’s life, including the relevant national indicators in line with the
Government policy and the country’s context, ensuring the succession of MDGs to SDGs. In
addition, as all the people enjoy learning and health services under the 12-year universal compulsory
free education and the universal free medical care systems, the relevant goals and targets were
updated to higher level according to the national development goals and sector plans.
During the selection of indicators, the related data collection and the preparation of the VNR report,
the results of surveys including 2014 Socio-economic Demographic Survey (HDHS) and 2015
Malaria Awareness Survey that CBS conducted with line agencies, 2017 Multiple Indicators Cluster
Survey (MICS) conducted by CBS in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), as well as the technical inputs by UN experts and exchange of experiences with other
countries at the Regional Workshop on VNR organized by the ESCAP in April 2019 and the
participation in the regional workshop on the SDG indicators and the Northeast Asia Stakeholders
Forum on the implementation 2030 Agenda in October 2019 were of great help.
The national SDGs progress was analyzed and reviewed and the future plans designed, on the basis
of annual data collected from the national statistical offices and the results of sector surveys
conducted by CBS together with the relevant agencies.
The global targets and indicators that confirm to the country’s context will be further added to the
national SDGs framework through necessary surveys and assessment of the international practices.
The continued sanctions and blockade on the DPRK, heavy natural disasters in consecutive years and
the world health crisis are main obstacles in achieving the national SDGs, showing the off-track
tendency in several indicators.
This report is prepared in combination of successes, experiences, challenges and further focused
plans in the implementation of national SDGs with 2016-2020 five year plan
OPENING STATEMENT
On 25 September 2015, the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development adopted the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) committing to build the new world, by
eradicating inequality and poverty at the global level and ensuring human dignity and its potential
healthy lives, for not only this generation but also posterity.
The Government of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has recognized that the 2030
Agenda conform to the national development policy for building powerful socialist country, and
expressed its full support. For implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Government has set up the
National Task Force for Sustainable Development (NTF) and also formed Technical Committee (TC).
The NTF is responsible for localizing the global SDGs, targets and indicators to the national SDGs and
indicators in conformity with the National Development Goals and coordinating activities towards
implementation of SDGs throughout the country. The TC integrates and estimates data by indicator
through national statistical system.
Based on the line of building the powerful socialist country and the 2016-2020 five year strategy in
May 2016 and the new strategic line of concentrating all efforts on economic construction in April
2018 set forth by Comrade Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of DPRK, the Government
has finalized the country specific SDGs and indicators for implementation of the 2030 Agenda and
prepared the first Voluntary National Review (VNR) to submit to the High-Level Political Forum
(HLPF) for sustainable development.
The DPRK SDGs reflect, as the main contents, to consolidate the foundations of the self-supporting
national economy by upholding the line of prioritizing science and education and provide people
with more affluent and cultured life through directing the primary efforts to energy, agriculture,
water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and environment as well as perfectly enforcing the people-
oriented policies. The national SDGs, the successor of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
have been elaborated on the basis of off-tracked MDGs indicators and of successes and lessons
learned during the progress towards implementation of the National Development Goals (NDG) and
sector plans. The national SDGs’ targets and indicators will be further updated according to the new
plan of national development, surveys and assessment of the international practices.
This report describes the successes and lessons learned during the implementation of each goal as
well as the challenges and planned priority activities. The continued sanctions and blockade on the
DPRK, severe natural disasters that hit the country every year and the protracted world health crisis
since 2020 are main obstacles to the Government’s efforts to achieve the sustainable development of
the country and improve the people’s livelihood.
The Government, under the ideals of "The people are God", single-hearted unity and self-reliance,
will dynamically advance along the road of Korean style socialism and accomplish its beautiful
ideals and goals successfully, through maximum use of its own resources, technologies and internal
force. The Government will also continue to work closely with the international community for
implementation of 2030 Agenda.
Finally, I would like to thank the Secretariat of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) for rendering valuable cooperation in completing the first VNR of
DPRK.
PAK Jong Gun
Vice Premier
Chairman of the State Planning Commission
Chair of the National Task Force for Sustainable Development
OPENING STATEMENT
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