North Korea’s Economy under Kim Jong-un Regime—Economic Reforms, Marketization and Economic Sanctions—

Abstract

The measures of “economic reform” centering on the market mechanism under the Kim Jong-un regime are only partial revisions of existing economic management methods, and are similar to the “economic reform” of the Soviet and Eastern European countries seen in the 1960s. It can be said that this is a low-level measure, but there are also some movements that are drawing attention, such as the direction of utilizing the market mechanism through the legislation. But the Kim Jong-un regime’s economic development strategy, which is based on these measures, has been transformed by the UN sanctions into an inward-looking character called “countermeasures against sanctions.” Moreover, the recent Covid-19 pandemic and flood damage have forced us to further correct the trajectory. The Kim Jong-un regime is at a critical turning point.