The country has faced numerous challenges, including the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, which cut off a key source of economic aid and support for North Korea. The famine of the mid-1990s, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of North Koreans, further weakened the economy and increased the country's reliance on foreign aid. Despite these challenges, the North Korean government has maintained its commitment to a socialist economic system, with a focus on self-sufficiency and independence from foreign influence. The government has implemented a series of economic reforms in recent years, including allowing limited private ownership of businesses and encouraging foreign investment in special economic zones.
