6 - North Korean Economic Reform in the Shadow of China

Summary

In chapter six, we examine the degree to which the Kim Jong Un regime has proactively sought to reform its political economy in line with China’s economic reforms. While political considerations amongst North Korean policymakers have led to an explicit rejection of Chinese-style reform, the North Korean authorities have in fact carried out a number of reforms that are broadly similar in substance to those in China. In this respect, we pay particular attention to the reform measures carried out under the slogan of “Our-Style Economic Management Method.” The structural differences between the Chinese and North Korean political economies have, however, meant that the reforms have had divergent impacts. This relates to the fact that it could be argued that while China (and Vietnam) were in the 1980s pursuing a more classic model of rural-based industrialisation, North Korea faced a somewhat different challenge of structural adjustment as seen in the former Soviet bloc (and China’s northeast). The greater degree of industrialisation and urbanisation in North Korea have led to correspondingly greater bureaucratic resistance to reforms.