North Korean Capitalism
Rumblings from Dandong: Banks and Bayonets
To understand politics in East Asia it is vital to keep a close eye on events in state capitols. However, it is also necessary to know what is going on at ground level – in Rason, Yanji, Hyesan, Ji’an, Sinuiju, Jilin, and of course right here in Dandong.
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.
A Roundtable Review of Hazel Smith’s Markets and Military Rule
How unique is North Korea? A quartet of contributions from Rudiger Frank, Georgy Toloraya, Christopher Green, and Robert Winstanley-Chesters address this question, via review of an important new book.
Investment Risks and Riddles: Zhejiang Businessmen and the DPRK
Chinese sources are no panacea for the dearth of official data coming from the DPRK. But with a sharp-eyed detachment, they can still help. Translating a 2013 article on DPRK economic relations with the Chinese province of Zhejiang, Matthew Bates shows us how.
Talking About the Unconscious: Interview with Professor Hyun Ok Park
Sino-NK interviews the author of a protean and provocative new book on transnational Korea.