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 North Koreaportal |
The North Korean economic reform refers to the program of reform and restructuring of the North Korean economy. Economic reforms have been increasing in the last years, particularly after Kim Jong Un came to power in 2012. [1] [2]
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| North Koreaportal |
The North Korean economic reform refers to the program of reform and restructuring of the North Korean economy. Economic reforms have been increasing in the last years, particularly after Kim Jong Un came to power in 2012. [1] [2]
Economic reforms in North Korea has its roots to the 1970s, when North Korean government agencies, provincial governments and military units were unofficially granted permission to establish their own companies. Number of such companies have increased dramatically since the 2000s. [1]
After the Korean War, Kim Il Sung focused on modernizing its economy through Soviet and Sino aid. His most notable economic reform, such as the one in 1992, was prompted by external and internal factors, including the collapse of the Soviet Union. The reform was designed to bolster the country's self-reliance and appeal to foreign investors, representing a cautious embrace of market-oriented policies. The amendment to the Constitution in 1992 included a provision of Article 37, which laid the ground for the "open-door" policy. Article 37 established that "[t]he State shall encourage institutions, enterprises or associations of the DPRK to establish and operate equity and contractual joint venture enterprises with corporations or individuals of foreign countries." [3]
In 1998, Kim Jong Il revised the Constitution to consolidate power and address economic difficulties. The revisions expanded ownership rights to include social organizations alongside the state and cooperatives, reducing state control and fostering a more conducive environment for private ownership. This shift allowed citizens to engage in legal and economic activities and earn income, marking a significant departure towards a rudimentary market economy. Furthermore, the protection of intellectual property rights was introduced, underscoring the government's recognition of the importance of innovation and creativity in economic development. Despite these reforms, North Korea remained committed to its socialist principles, particularly the pursuit of self-sufficiency. [3] The collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s necessitated a loosening of central control, as resource shortages compelled the government to grant more autonomy to lower units and individuals. This decentralization of authority led to a weakening of bureaucratic coherence, the disintegration of party structures, and an increase in corruption among officials. [4]
Post-1998, the government shifted its focus towards ensuring political stability, restructuring governance, and promoting economic recovery. Policies were implemented to empower state entities and localities, acknowledging the altered power dynamics within the country. However, economic challenges persisted, prompting individuals and businesses to seek greater independence from state control. [4] In the 21st century, under Kim Jong Un's regime, a new phase of economic reform was initiated by introducing the 'socialist enterprise responsibility management system.' This system aimed to enhance the efficiency of state-owned enterprises, particularly within the industrial sector, through measures such as granting autonomy in production planning, pricing, and revenue management. Additionally, enterprises were given greater flexibility in managing residual revenue and making investments, reflecting a partial embrace of market mechanisms. [5]
In 2020 North Korea halted its economic reforms that were seen as a risky gambit to unleash market forces, and the government shifted back its focus towards more central planning and state control over the economy. [6] [7]
North Korea's economic growth between 2011 and 2017 is estimated to be ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent. [8] North Korea expert Andrei Lankov has said that North Korea's real growth rate is 3–4%. [9]
Economic reforms in North Korea has been encouraged by China. While visiting Pyongyang in June 2019, Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping said that Kim Jong Un had “initiated a new strategic line of economic development and improving people’s livelihoods, raising socialist construction in the country to a new high tide.” [10]
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
The politics of North Korea takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. Juche, which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, is the belief that only through self-reliance and a strong independent state, can true socialism be achieved.
The economy of North Korea is a centrally planned economy, following Juche, where the role of market allocation schemes is limited, although increased to an extent. As of 2024, North Korea continues its basic adherence to a centralized planned economy. With a total gross domestic product of $28.500 billion as of 2016, there has been some economic liberalization, particularly after Kim Jong Un assumed the leadership in 2012, but reports conflict over particular legislation and enactment. Since the 1990s, informal market activity has increased, which the government has tolerated. These markets are referred to as 'Jangmadang', and were formed as a result of the economic collapse during the 1990s, which made the regime unable to distribute food to its people.
Korean reunification is the hypothetical unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification of the peninsula while still maintaining two opposing regimes was started by the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration in June 2000, was reaffirmed by the October 4th Declaration in October 2007 and the Panmunjom Declaration in April 2018, and the joint statement of United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Singapore Summit in June 2018. In the Panmunjom Declaration, the two countries agreed to work to officially end the Korean conflict in the future.
Juche, officially the Juche idea, is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.
Pak Pong-ju is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2013 to 2019. He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2016.
The Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea (DFRK), also known as the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland (DFRF) or the Fatherland Front, was a North Korean popular front formed on 25 June 1949 and led by the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). It was initially called the Fatherland United Democratic Front.
Kim Il Sung University (Korean: 김일성종합대학) is a public university in Taesong, Pyongyang, North Korea. Founded on 1 October 1946, it is the first institution of higher learning in North Korea since its foundation.
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of North Korea. It was approved by the 6th Supreme People's Assembly at its first session on 27 December 1972, and has been amended and supplemented in 1998, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 (twice), and in 2023. It replaced the country's first constitution which was approved in 1948.
The North Korean famine, also known as the Arduous March, was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from North Korea which peaked towards the end of the famine period.
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since December 2011 and the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was the second supreme leader of North Korea, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder and first supreme leader of the country.
The Communist movement in Korea emerged as a political movement in the early 20th century. Although the movement had a minor role in pre-war politics, the division between the communist North Korea and the anti-communist South Korea came to dominate Korean political life in the post-World War II era. North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, continues to be a Jucheist state under the rule of the Workers' Party of Korea. In South Korea, the National Security Law has been used to criminalize advocacy of communism and groups suspected of alignment with North Korea. Due to the end of economic aid from the Soviet Union after its dissolution in 1991, due to the impractical ideological application of Stalinist policies in North Korea over years of economic slowdown in the 1980s and receding during the 1990s, North Korea continues to nominally uphold Communism, but has replaced Marxism-Leninism with the Juche idea. References to Communism were removed in the North Korean 1992 and 1998 constitutional revisions to make way for the personality cult of Kim's family dictatorship and the North Korean market economy reform. The Workers' Party of Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong Un later reconfirmed commitment to the establishment of a communist society, but orthodox Marxism has since been largely tabled in favor of "Socialism in our style". Officially, the DPRK still retains a command economy with complete state control of industry and agriculture. North Korea maintains collectivized farms and state-funded education and healthcare.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties that are completely subservient to the WPK and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
Daily NK is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 177 out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
The Cabinet of Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the supreme administrative organ of North Korea. The Cabinet's official newspaper is Minju Choson.
Media coverage of North Korea is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information, coupled with an abundant number of sensationalist falsehoods. There are a number of reasons for this lack of information and incorrect stories.
Jangmadang are North Korean local markets, farmers' markets, black markets and bazaars. Since the North Korean famine in the 1990s, they have formed a large informal economy, and the government has become more lenient towards them. However, merchants still face heavy regulations. A majority of North Koreans have become dependent on jangmadang for their survival.
The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is constitutionally the supreme political authority of North Korea. The State Affairs Commission was created by 2016 amendments to the North Korean Constitution to replace the previously military-dominated National Defence Commission.
Tae Yong-ho, also known by his pseudonym Tae Ku-min, is a North Korean-born South Korean politician and former diplomat who is serving as a member of the National Assembly for the Gangnam district of Seoul. After studying abroad in Beijing, China, for a decade, he became North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, prior to defecting with his family to South Korea in 2016. In August 2016, the South Korean government confirmed that Thae and his family were under their protection.
Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il badges are lapel pins with portraits depicting either one or both of the Eternal Leaders of North Korea, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The badges have been common since the late 1960s, and are produced by the Mansudae Art Studio. There are more than 20 different designs, some of which are more common than others. Common examples include red flag-shaped pins depicting either Eternal President Kim Il Sung or Eternal General Secretary Kim Jong Il, smaller circular pins with the same portraits on white backgrounds, and larger flag-shaped pins depicting both leaders.
