The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of North Korea’s implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and outline the challenges and difficulties that North Korea has faced in implementing them. Stringent international sanctions and the pandemic-related border closure notwithstanding, North Korea expressed willingness to the implementation of the SDGs and conducted a Voluntary National Review (VNR) in July 2021. As shown in the VNR report, a distinctive feature of North Korea’s implementation of the SDGs is its establishment of “country specific SDGs” with considerable modifications and adaptations to their contents. This paper examines the characteristics of SDG implementation in North Korea and identifies the limitations of its SDG implementation. The paper also explores socioeconomic and environmental situations related to the SDGs through a review of North Korean statistical data and SDG indicators. North Korea’s implementation of the SDGs has faced economic and geopolitical challenges under international sanctions. The border closure since 2020 has adversely affected the livelihoods of ordinary North Koreans and derailed the process of implementing the SDGs and related activities. This paper demonstrates North Korea’s urgent need for international assistance in improving the humanitarian situation and advancing the implementation of the SDGs.

본고는 북한의 지속가능발전목표(SDGs) 이행 현황을 파악하여 북한이 직면한 도전과제와 문제점을 제시한다. 북한은 SDGs 이행 의지를 표명해 왔으며 2021년 자발적국별검토(VNR)를 실시하였다. VNR 보고서와 여러 문헌자료에서 나타난 북한 SDGs의 특이점은 국가 SDGs 수립과 운영과정에서 선택적 수용과 상당한 내용적 변형이다. 본고에서는 북한 SDGs 이행의 특징을 검토하면서 국가 SDGs 실행과 추진체계에서 나타나는 한계를 구체적으로 파악한다. 북한의 SDGs 이행지표와 통계자료를 분 석하여 본고는 북한의 최근 경제·사회 상황과 SDGs 이행과 관련된 환경문제 실태를 제시한다. 빈곤 감소와 SDGs 진전을 위해 북한의 국제협력을 위한 노력이 필요하며, SDGs와 관련된 분야에서 국제 사회의 인도적 대북 원조가 추진되어야 할 것이다.

1 | INTRODUCTION
2 | THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS OF THE SDGS IN NORTHKOREA
    2.1 | North Korea’s Expression of Participation in the SDGs
    2.2 | The Submission of a Voluntary National Review
    2.3 | Characteristics of Establishing the SDGs in North Korea: SelectiveAdoption and Modification
    2.4 | Institutional Arrangements for Implementing the SDGs
3 | CURRENT STATUS AND LIMITATIONS OF NORTHKOREA’S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDGS
    3.1 | Economic and Social Situation
    3.2 | Environmental Challenges
4 | NORTH KOREA’S NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONON THE SDGS
5 | CONCLUSION

• Lee Jong-Woon(Associate Professor, Peace College of Liberal Arts, Hanshin University, South Korea) | 이종운 (한신대학교 평화교양대학 부교수) Corresponding author