The increasing marketization in North Korea has heightened the importance of market price data, which is crucial for analyzing its economy and understanding resident income and consumption patterns. Drawing on interviews from three domestic institutions providing this data, the analysis offers a thorough insight into current survey methodologies, suggesting improvements. Despite North Korea's investment in education and healthcare, aiming to foster future generations, there are ongoing concerns about the workforce's nutritional status and educational quality. By utilizing international standards to analyze the state of youth development in North Korea, the article reviews the evaluation criteria of the international community, then analyzes the situation in North Korea, and lastly presents a comprehensive assessment.

The ongoing Korean Peninsula division is leading to declining interest in North Korean matters among South Korean youth. Challenges such as restricted data accessibility and inadequate support serve as impediments to research on North Korea, yet new scholars are consistently entering the field. In response to this, the KDI Office of North Korean Economic Studies convened a forum, providing graduate students with an opportunity to articulate their research motivations, articulate the challenges they face, and collaboratively explore future directions.