As part of our Kangwon Development Initiative, we published an article with the World Economic Forum’s Agenda Blog. We believe that a breakthrough in US-DPRK requires a comprehensive approach to reviewing all aspects of the relationship, present and future, of which economic engagement will be one important aspect….

Over the past decade, Kangwon province has been a development priority for the DPRK leadership. Significant resources have been poured into building up the tourism sector through landmark projects such as the Masikryong Ski Resort and the Wonsan-Kalma Tourism Zone. These high-profile projects have been touted as the catalyst for economic development on DPRK's east coast. Several inter-Korea projects, including railway networks have also been planned to tap on the region’s potential.

This chapter focuses on the role of ASEAN and ASEAN-based NGOs in promoting inter-Korean cooperation, especially under the Peace Economy vision of the Moon government. Successive ROK governments have consistently pursued engagement policies and such long-term commitment will be rendered more sustainable with partnership provided by ASEAN and its NGOs. As a neutral geopolitical bloc, ASEAN and specific ASEAN countries, such as Singapore and Vietnam, given their successful developmental experiences, are particularly well placed to partner with South Korea in engaging the DPRK. ASEAN NGOs are well placed to provide capacity-building in sectors that are important to the long-term economic health of North Korea, for example, infrastructure. The training initiatives designed by Choson Exchange have provided valuable lessons in how to engage North Korean policymakers and people. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations from ASEAN have much to offer the DPRK government. The Three Pillars of the NSP – People, Prosperity and Peace – which are inter-connected and mutually reinforcing can be applied to the engagement with and reaching out to North Korea. Indeed, ASEAN is the ideal partner for the ROK for this endeavour.

We came across this recent publication from DPR Korea highlighting some of the developments in the country. Our education efforts in economic policy and entrepreneurship are about long-term human capital development. Having consistently delivered programs for more than a decade, we are proud to see alumni go on to successfully grow their companies. This issue highlighted two companies that have taken part in our programs.

We were quite pleased to recently come across a paper by program alumni of ours (2018) at Kim Il Sung University. Thanks for Theo Clement for spotting the paper and bringing it to our attention. This paper deals with the development of economic zones. It is highly technical but we found it interesting for the attention it brings to the concept of equity, which is still an important but poorly recognized concept in the DPRK system. We believe laws that protect equity rights and fully develop it are critical for better protection of entrepreneurs and for creating incentives for economic development. Read the full paper here (DPRK site).

We have seen hundreds of takes on John Bolton’s recent book and what happened during the tumultuous two years of US-DPRK interactions. Like most things North Korea, what you take from it is largely what your priors are. Some people wring their hands and share Bolton’s conclusion that denuclearization is impossible because North Korea can never be trusted. Others point to the willingness of Kim Jong Un to engage and the opportunities lost from internal sabotage in the US and an administration lacking coherence and focus. What many seem to agree on is that they do not want to give Bolton money for this book. With that in mind, we picked out some quotes from the book and leave it to you to draw your own inferences - noting that as with any autobiography, it is full of self-serving biases and interpretations.