Who we are

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a global knowledge network advocating for human development and connecting countries to knowledge, experiences and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP works with countries to develop and implement their own solutions to development challenges. UNDP's 2018-2021 Strategic Plan is deeply rooted in the analysis and understanding of the interconnections of different operational environments and development settings, enabling UNDP to be flexible and site-specific.  

UNDP is one of six resident UN agencies that make up the United Nations Country Team in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPR Korea). UNDP was the first UN agency to establish office in DPRK in 1979.

In DPR Korea, UNDP's programme fills gaps in nutrition, energy and disaster preparedness, thus reducing people's vulnerability and strengthening rural communiy resilience in remote and underserved areas. The overarching goal of the programme, as approved by Executive Board at its first regular session of 2011, is to ‘support the national goal of “Restoring the quality of life of people to the highest level achieved before economic and humanitarian difficulties in mid 1990s’”.  The currently relevant UNDP Country Programme Document outlines three areas of focus:

• Food security and rural development
• Socio-economic development
• Environment and Climate Change

The programme’s focus is consistent with the 2018-2021 UNDP Strategic Plan in support to ending extreme poverty, reducing inequality, and reaching the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). It also contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Strategic Framework for DPRK (Outcomes 1 and 3), in pursuance of SDGs 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 15.