North Korea: Witness to Transformation

Continuing North-South fallout from economic sanctions

Marcus Noland — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:17:11 +0000

Last week, on the anniversary of the “24 May measures” undertaken in response to the shooting of a tourist at Mt. Kumgang, the sinking of the Cheonan, and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) released a report claiming that North-South economic activity has been depressed greater than originally expected. According to [...]

The Northern Limit Line Controversy: New Historical Documents

Stephan Haggard — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:00:32 +0000

We are still digesting all of the conflicting news about the Chinese fishing boat incident, and will offer an overview when some of the dust clears. But one thing is increasingly clear: the Northern Limit Line is implicated in the episode. As Chris Nelson reports from Seoul, Chinese fishing boats have exploited tension along the [...]

Not Satire: Mamata Banerjee and North Korea

Stephan Haggard — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:00:18 +0000

Most of our “not satire” entries take one of two forms: the weird things the North Koreans themselves say and do with a straight face (soccer players struck by lightening; ostrich farms; North Korea filing claims against KEDO); and the even weirder things that come out of the mouths of foreigners enamored with the place. [...]

The G8 Declaration: Russia Gets on Board

Stephan Haggard — Sat, 26 May 2012 11:00:09 +0000

North Korea got mention in the G8 declaration that came out of meetings at Camp David this week. But we were pleasantly surprised that the statement went beyond the nuclear and missile issues and renewed commitment to the sanctions regime. It also included specific mention not only of abductions—in line with Japanese interests—but political prisoners [...]

Read ‘Em and Weep II: Aidan Foster-Carter on North-South Relations

Stephan Haggard — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:45 +0000

In a recent post, we spotlighted several important North Korean policy speeches and their particularly threatening language toward the South. Aidan Foster-Carter at Leeds has now provided the service of walking through recent North Korean invective in a bit more systematic way and tracing its origins; the analysis appears in the Comparative Connections series replete [...]

Tony Hall and the NSC on North Korea, Starvation, Food Aid, and the United States

Stephan Haggard — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:26:43 +0000

Former Congressman Tony Hall had a notable career as a legislator and activist on behalf of the world’s poor, and we have to confess, he has shamed us more than a bit. For those who don’t know about Hall, he served as a representative for Dayton for 24 years, and took a particular interest in [...]

North Korea as Ireland

Marcus Noland — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:38:20 +0000

Two common misconceptions about famines are that (1) people starve to death (2) and because there is not enough food to go around. In reality, (1) people normally succumb to other maladies before they literally starve, and (2) there is usually enough food to go around. But in market economies famine victims do not have [...]

Networks, Trust, and Trade

Marcus Noland — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:00:46 +0000

Last week we put out a new working paper “Networks, Trust, and Trade: The Microeconomics of China-North Korea Integration.” Based on our survey of 300 Chinese enterprises doing business in North Korea, it is a follow-on to our earlier paper “Integration in the Absence of Institutions: China-North Korea Cross-Border Exchange.” A central hope of engagement [...]

The Panel of Experts: Final Report?

Stephan Haggard — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:00:53 +0000

We are once again getting leaks about a pending UN Panel of Experts Report. If the earlier reports are any indication, the document will provide useful detail on North Korea’s efforts to circumvent the sanctions regime. But it will also set in train a highly politicized debate among the Five Parties, including particularly the Chinese. [...]

Bustin’ a Move in Pyongyang: New Popular Dances In Our Own Style!

Alex Melton — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:30:57 +0000

Our friends over at the non-partisan Korean Central News Agency have turned to entertainment journalism with an article about the latest DPRK dance craze that is sweeping the country. Check out their article below and the accompanying photos of the next big thing in authoritarian dance culture. – Pyongyang, May 7 (KCNA) — New popular [...]