North Korea: Witness to Transformation

Sources: Victor Cha’s The Impossible State

Stephan Haggard — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:13 +0000

North Korea generates a lot of books, but a surprising number of them are highly specialized: the nuclear issue; the Kim family; leadership politics; refugees; the famine; propaganda. But for some time, we have lacked a general introduction to the place; indeed, historian Bruce Cumings’ North Korea: Another Country and journalist Bradley K. Martin’s Under [...]

Rent’s due

Marcus Noland — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:29:50 +0000

I tell the landlady I got a job, I’m gonna pay the rent She said “Yeah?” I said “Oh yeah” And then she was so nice, Lord, she was lovey-dovey So I go in my room, pack up my things and I go, I slip on out the back door and down the streets I [...]

Colossally Bad Idea Department: Tactical Nucs in Asia

Stephan Haggard — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:27 +0000

An occupational hazard of working on North Korea is that it can make you say and do stupid things. Given that the North Koreans are so diabolically frustrating, the temptation to fly off the handle has to be treated with at least some indulgence. But given that we are entering the high political season, it [...]

A Real Wild Ride with Kim Jong-un

Marcus Noland — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:50:58 +0000

“It’s a shame that North Koreans are treated by their rulers as basically being an expendable race of people; before we were allowed on the ride, the cadres in charge sent a few terrified farmers on test runs like a shipment of human flour sacks.”—Alex Hoban, “Hoping No One Dies at the North Korean Fun [...]

North Korean film madness

Marcus Noland — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:18:53 +0000

Shane Smith, last seen in Siberia, chasing down North Korean loggers and stumbling into the gulag summit, is back, this time attempting to penetrate the state-run Korean Feature Film Studio outside Pyongyang. (Sorry for the 30 second commercial at the beginning.)

“A Quiet Opening”

Marcus Noland — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:59:54 +0000

Yesterday Intermedia released “A Quiet Opening” a study of North Korea’s changing media environment by Nat Kretchum and Jane Kim. I had the good fortune to be one of the discussants at the report’s release event, along with Martyn Williams of the NK Tech blog whose work we have often cited. It is an excellent [...]

Global Supply Chain Council Goes to North Korea

Stephan Haggard — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:28 +0000

We are always interested in stories that reveal what investors—rather than pundits–are thinking about the business climate in North Korea. So we were curious to hear that the Global Supply Chain Council is mounting a North Korea roadshow. Moreover, it appears to be filling up fast. As the title suggests, the Supply Chain Council is [...]

Radio Free Asia’s Korea Service

Stephan Haggard — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:00:50 +0000

Radio Free Asia’s Korean service is 15 years old this year, and in celebration the network has set up an interesting web page celebrating the anniversary. The service broadcasts five hours of programming a day, seven days a week and can be heard on nine medium and shortwave frequencies to maximize the chances it will [...]

Slave to the Blog: Special Border Edition

Stephan Haggard — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:00:39 +0000

Over the last year, we have reported on tightening controls on the China-DPRK border, with active Chinese cooperation; the recent flap over Chinese repatriation of refugees is only the most recent evidence in this regard. Border controls emanate from a number of sources, including the secular trend away from economic reform after 2005, ongoing concerns [...]

World Grain Prices

Marcus Noland — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:20:50 +0000

An often underappreciated fact is that global market conditions have a profound effect on food availability in North Korea. When world food prices rise, it makes it both more difficult for North Korea to import grain on commercial terms, as well as attenuating the availability of aid, as donor countries reduce support. It is [...]