Authors: Geoffrey K. See and Andray Abrahamian, Choson Exchange

Intra-elite competition for investments in North Korea, with multiple channels backed by different individuals at the highest levels of the North Korean government, has significantly increased in the last two years.

This competition appears to mark a shift towards increasing reliance on economic performance as a primary source of legitimacy for the North Korean government. Read more…

Author: Geoffrey K. See, Choson Exchange

Choson Exchange recently prepared a program for North Korean students to learn business, finance and economics overseas through university courses and internships.

They consulted a range of North Koreans on how it should structure such a program and ‘the Australia National University’ often came back as the model to follow. Up until 2006, ANU hosted North Korean trainees studying economics under programs supported by international and Australian aid agencies. The Australian exchange program was clearly well-regarded by outward-looking North Koreans.

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Author: Geoffrey K. See, Yale University

During my last visit to Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, a student told me that she wanted to be a business leader. I asked her why. She said that she wants to show that ‘women can be good business leaders’. I later quizzed her on politics and she responded by asking me if I was interested in such issues. When I said ‘Yes’, she said ‘Politics are for men only.’

Maybe she has a point. Not so much that ‘politics are for men only’, but rather that in bringing North Korea back into the international system, we should separate politics from business. Encouraging trade and investments in North Korea can only make the country more cooperative on other issues. Read more…