This paper analyzes North Korean ports in light of existing models of port system evolution. It reviews the economic and political factors shaping port concentration in developed, developing, and socialist countries. A database on vessel movements allows for the analysis of individual North Korean port traffic by total capacity circulated, cargo type, fleet nationality, immediate origin and destination, and berthing time. While ideological factors and military control hamper port modernization and trade openness, traffic concentration at the Pyongyang-Nampo gateway highlights the spatial polarization in the capital region at the expense of Eastern ports for which inland transport limitations and industrial decline have become major issues. The North Korean case only partly fits general models because traffic concentration occurs due to geopolitical isolation and internal limitations rather than economic and trade growth.

This paper is an empirical attempt to verify the interplay between political change, fleet nationality, and the evolution of shipping networks. North Korea offers a good example of a socialist maritime country that has experienced much contrasting geopolitical contexts since 1990. A database of vessel movements between North Korean ports and other ports is analyzed. Main results show differences between North Korean and foreign fleets in terms of traffic (vessel size, age, berthing time) and geographical coverage. South Korean ports tend to play a new role in the reorganization of North Korean-related flows in Northeast Asia.

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Résumé L’évolution des mouvements de navires dans les ports nord-coréens entre 1985 et 2005 montre que la multiplication des connexions maritimes nord-sud provient autant d’une intégration économique en cours des deux pays que des difficultés du système de transport et de la réorganisation des relations commerciales de la Corée du Nord. Dans un contexte de réformes économiques au nord et d’ouverture entre les deux Corées, le glissement des trafics majeurs vers des hubs chinois et sud-coréens illustre la contraction de l’espace économique nord-coréen sur la région de Pyongyang et la logique des armateurs, qui concentrent leurs services sur les relais les plus proches et les mieux équipés.