Cross-border Business Ties
The Demise of Military Hegemony in the DPRK
How do we know what we know about North Korea? Are eruptions of external violence and massive demonstrations signs of a desire for war, or negotiation? In the wake of the Cheonan sinking in spring 2010, former British Chargé d’affaires in Pyongyang James Hoare took to the pages of the Guardian, writing: “killing 46 sailors does not seem […]
Kim Song-nam and Jon Hui Jong: North Korea’s éminence grise for China?
With the publication of the most successful revised dissertation in recent memory, Patrick McEachern’s Inside the Red Box, institutionally-oriented analyses are back in vogue when it comes to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, the weight and activities of some personalities still matter very much more than others in the DPRK, and Nicolas Levi’s […]
Strategy for the Successful Development of the North Korean Minerals Sector
The DPRK is quite literally sitting on a goldmine, and is endowed with considerable mineral resources. The successful exploitation of this mineral wealth has not yet been realized, but a number of international firms–including Chinese and South Korean–are actively courting the North Korean government. Alan Ferrie, an international economics analyst based in Puget Sound, Washington, […]
Conflicting Signals on the Refugee Issue, and a KCNA-Xinhua Pastiche
While the refugee issue metasizes in Seoul and curiously grows on the Chinese internet, life continues its rhythms in Pyongyang, and in the hallways of state media. — Editor Conflicting Signals on the Refugee Issue, and a KCNA-Xinhua Pastiche by Adam Cathcart – There were some very strong hints following Li Keqiang’s visit to both […]
“Friendship Prices”: Understanding Chinese-North Korean Energy Trade
The deepening of ties between China and other parts of the developing world in recent years has been met a great deal of hyperbole. Just as many onlookers describe China’s growing stake in Africa as “neo-colonial” (charges described and refuted in North Korean media) Chinese investments in the DPRK have also accrued a predatory stigma. But as […]
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