Economic Policy
Local and Limited: The Sociopolitical Implications of Segmented Marketization in North Korea
In the fifth part of our contemporary marketization series, Philo Kim takes a sociologist’s lens to the North Korean economy to find out why marketization hasn’t led to large-scale change or transformation.
One More for the Road? New Masterplan for the Sinuiju Special Economic Zone
This week’s closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex highlights how arduous economic exchange with the DPRK can be. China knows this well. Keen to develop its own northeast, Beijing has been throwing money and heft at the borderland all century long. The latest bilateral step? Théo Clément heads to Dandong to investigate.
Rhetoric vs Reality: 5.24 and North Korean Workers in Dandong
In response to sanctions on South Korean business and Pyongyang’s will to export more labor, the focus of inter-Korean exchange has shifted to the city of Dandong, “another Kaesong Industrial Complex,” according to anthropologist Kang Ju-won. Christopher Green looks at Kang’s recent article on Pressian.
Recent Developments on the SEZ Battlefront: Mubong and Kyongwon
In his second essay for Sino-NK, Théo Clément examines two SEZ developments on the North Korean side of the border, Mubong and Kyongwon. There he finds signs of competing local initiatives, logistical savvy, and reciprocal dialogue with Chinese partners.
Yongusil 79: Market Size and Geography in North Korea
A new SAIS report uses satellite imagery to measure North Korean market sizes as they have fluctuated over the past decade. Sino-NK goes into orbit behind the oculus, assessing gains and limitations of the data.
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