Economic Reform
Chosun Ilbo Surveys 100 North Koreans
The results of a recent survey conducted by Chosun Ilbo of visa-holding North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean borderlands offer a rare, if imperfect, glimpse of domestic public opinion in the DPRK. Christopher Green analyzes the findings.
Vanadium and Socialism: Rare Earth Prospecting, Politics, and History in North Korea
Behind every cloud there is a silver lining and behind every developmental story in North Korea there is a narrative from Kim Il-sung. Robert Winstanley-Chesters investigates the pre-history of SRE Minerals’ contemporary Rare-Earth gambit.
A Primer on North Korea’s Economy: An Interview with Andrei Lankov
In the modern era of North Korean marketization, the scope and substance of the North Korean economy are hard to establish. Nevertheless, in this new interview with Peter Ward, Professor Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University does his best to describe the current state of affairs.
Reining in Rent-Seeking: How North Korea Can Survive
Peter Ward proposes that the North Korean regime can reconcile the seemingly contradictory concepts of “state rule” and “market economy” by reining in rent-seeking from low- and mid-level bureaucrats and harnessing the power of the markets.
Growth Prospects and the Potential for Progress in the DPRK’s Agricultural Sector: Infrastructure and Incentives
Matthew Bates completes his discussion with agronomist Tom Morrison on the prospects of food self-sufficiency in North Korea. In the final installment of a three part series, Morrison finishes his discussion of agricultural reforms and delves into a dialogue about the geography of rice and potato production.