Unveiling The North Korean Economy

A comprehensive, systematic analysis of the North Korean economy, exposing its hidden workings through quantitative data analysis and surveys.

This edited book is one of the most updated and comprehensive accounts of the North Korean regime under Kim Jong-un’s era. It covers not only nuclear policies but also the political regime, the economy, society, and religion. It sets out to uncover multi-dimensional aspects of North Korea, explains how they have evolved, and predicts how they will proceed. It further investigates the extent to which his policies are different from his father’s and whether and why they have changed during the course. This book will be an invaluable reference for scholars, journalists and NGOs trying to make sense of the present and future of the Korean peninsula.

Monograph on the economic structure and economic development of Korea DPR since 1945 - covers the agricultural sector, (incl. Land reform and collective farming), the industrial sector, (incl. Nationalization and industrial growth), trade, etc., and includes an evaluation of the role of collectivism and central economic planning. Bibliography pp. 195 to 206, map, references and statistical tables.

Mention North Korea to people today and they will conjure up many unflattering images, particularly in the wake of George W. Bush denouncing the state as part of an "axis of evil". Despite this cold war type rhetoric, the state of North Korea has begun to recognise the difficult challenges that it faces and is now trying to get to grips with them systematically. This book brings together a selection of many of the world experts on the North Korean economy and covers such important issues as: *possible unification with South Korea *the significance of China's economic success *Europe and the United States' roles in North Korea North Korea in the World Economy provides an accessible, well-written and comprehensive account of this unique country and its economy. It will be extremely interesting not only for students and academics with an interest in Korean studies, international finance and transition economies but also for anyone with an interest in international economics.

Viewed from afar, North Korea may appear bizarre, or positively irrational. But as Nicholas Eberstadt demonstrates in this meticulously researched volume, there is a grim coherence to North Korea's political economy, and a ruthless logic undergirding it--one that unreservedly subordinates economic welfare to augmentation of political power. Thus, paradoxically, even as official policies and practices consign the DPRK economy to a perilous realm between crisis and catastrophe, the country's leadership maintains unchallenged domestic control and has actually managed to increase its international influence.Through painstaking collection of hard-to-uncover data and careful analysis, Eberstadt provides a quantitative tableau of North Korea's terrible failure in its economic race against South Korea; its stubborn adherence to policies all but guaranteed to stifle growth and undermine economic performance; and the longstanding official effort to ignore, or mitigate, pressures for economic reform.Eberstadt is skeptical of optimistic accounts from South Korea and elsewhere suggesting that the North Korean leadership is interested in resolving the current nuclear impasse, and getting on with the business of reform and development. So long as Pyongyang's rulers entertain the ambition of reunifying the Korean peninsula on its own terms, Eberstadt argues, economic reforms worthy of the name will be subversive of state authority--and vigilantly resisted by Pyongyang's rulers. This authoritative volume has received widespread attention from Asian specialists, well as those concerned with nuclear proliferation and world peace, and international relations professionals in general.

Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors' expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea's political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns. Considering the implications for Pyongyang's transition, it focuses especially on the transformation of ideology, the Worker's Party of Korea, the military, effects of the Arab Spring, the emerging merchant class, cultural infiltration from the South, Western aid, and global economic integration. The contributors also assess the impact of North Korea's new policies on China, South Korea, the United States, and the rest of the world. Comprehensive and deeply knowledgeable, their analysis is especially crucial given the power consolidation efforts of the new leadership underway in Pyongyang and the implications for both domestic and international politics. Contributions by: Nicholas Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Bradley Babson, Victor Cha, Bruce Cumings, Nicholas Eberstadt, Ken Gause, David Kang, Andrei Lankov, Woo Young Lee, Liu Ming, Haksoon Paik, Kyung-Ae Park, Terence Roehrig, Jungmin Seo, and Scott Snyder.

CHAPTER 1: Conventional Planned Economy 1. Framework of a Planned Economy 2. Taean Work System & Unified and Detailed Planning 3. System for Distribution of Food Rations and Other Necessities CHAPTER 2: Planned Economy after the Economic Crisis 1. Contraction and Weakening of the Planned Economy 2. Generalization of Direct Control by the Supreme Leader 3. Collapse of the Ration Distribution System CHAPTER 3: Development of North Korea’s Market ization 1. Conceptual Framework 2. Economic Crisis of the 1990s and the Arduous March 3. After the July 1 Economic Management Improvement Measures 4. Since the Latter Half of the 2000s: Between Restriction and Tolerance of Markets CHAPTER 4: Development, Status, and Structure of North Korea’s Marketization 1. Foreign Dependency of Marketization 2. Rise of Monopolies and Oligopolies & Wealth Disparity due to Collusion Between Government and Businesses 3. Prolonged Marketization and Its Establishment 4. Evaluation of Marketization CHAPTER 5: Characteristics of North Korea’s Dual Economic Structure 1. Dual Economic Structure with Ambiguous Boundaries 2. Coexistence of the Planned and Market Economies 3. Supplementary and Conflicting Relations Between the Planned and Market Economies 4. The North Korean Government’s Dilemma CHAPTER 6: Future of North Korea’s Dual Economic Structure 1. Elements that Spread and Restrain Marketization in North Korea 2. Future Prospects for Marketization in North Korea

North Korea is one of the most closed and secretive societies in the world. Despite a high level of interest from the outside world, we have very little detailed information about how the country functions economically. In this valuable book for both the academic and policy-making circles, Byung-Yeon Kim offers the most comprehensive and systematic analysis of the present day North Korean economy in the context of economic systems and transition economics. It addresses what is really happening in the North Korean economy, why it has previously failed, and how the country can make the transition to a market economy. It takes advantage not only of carefully reconstructed macro data but also rich, new data at the micro level, such as quantitative surveys of North Korean refugees settled in South Korea, and the surveys of Chinese companies that interact heavily with North Korea.

Prolonging North Korea's life may actually increase the costs and the dangers of its inevitable demise.