Abstract

This study examines the relationship between urban and rural areas in North Korea, drawing on environmental sociologist John Bellamy Foster’s theory of metabolic rift. Since adopting Kim Il-sung’s “Socialist Rural Theses” in 1964, North Korea has aimed to integrate urban and rural development through a system centered on the county (gun) level, promoting balanced growth between urban and rural regions. Thus, state policy emphasizes the transportation of materials from urban and industrial areas to support rural communities. This paper specifically explores the transportation of “urban manure (dosigeoreum)” as an example of urban support for rural areas during Kim Jong-un’s leadership, attempting to restore the metabolic rift between North Korean cities and rural areas. In conclusion, the transportation of urban manure represents an effort to create a sustainable cyclical relationship between urban and rural material flows, underscoring the critical role of the party and state in guiding this policy. However, when viewed within the broader context of North Korea’s domestic and international relations, this policy can also be seen as a defensive response to external pressures and sanctions, aimed at achieving self-reliance. Fundamentally, without addressing the structural constraints of the North Korean regime, attempts to restore the metabolic rift through urban manure transportation will inevitably face inherent limitations.