However, reforestation programs have helped to remedy the loss. Its minerals are widely scattered, and mining operations are generally small scale, although tungsten is an important export item. In the North, modern mining methods have been instituted, and minerals and metals account for a significant portion of the country's export revenue. North Korea is especially rich in iron and coal and has some 200 different kinds of minerals of economic value. Some of the other more important minerals that are produced are copper, lead, zinc, uranium, manganese, gold, silver, and tungsten.
Rice is the chief crop, with wet paddy fields constituting about half of the farmland.
Paddies are found along the coasts, in reclaimed tidal areas, and in river valleys. Agricultural self-sufficiency became a major goal of the North Korean government, and mechanized methods were introduced. Livestock plays a minor role in Korean agriculture, especially in the North, where the steep and often barren hills are unsuitable for large-scale grazing. In the South, cattle are used largely as beasts of burden, and although chickens and rabbits are raised, relatively little meat is eaten. Fish remains the chief source of protein in the Korean diet.