North Korea’s Ninth Party Congress outlined an ambitious economic agenda for the next five years. Since the Congress concluded, Pyongyang has released additional details that offer important insights into the direction of Kim Jong Un’s economic strategy. However, the harder question is what the decisions mean in practice.
How much continuity is there between North Korea’s earlier economic improvement efforts and the policies now emerging after the Ninth Party Congress? Are recent developments consistent with greater centralization, or do they point to a more nuanced approach to economic management? And what do recent economic indicators suggest about the country’s economic health and the prospects for Kim’s flagship initiatives such as the 20×10 Regional Development Policy?
Join us for a discussion exploring the implementation of North Korea’s new economic agenda, the future of Kim Jong Un’s economic reforms, and what the latest data reveal about where the North Korean economy may be headed.
Featured Speakers
Kibum Han, Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute for North Korean Studies
Kibum Han is a political scientist with a PhD who worked for more than two decades as a North Korea analyst in the South Korean government, including as first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) from 2013 to 2016. He is currently a distinguished research fellow at the Institute for North Korean Studies and a visiting senior research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. In 2023, he published the book Why Does North Korea’s Economic Reform Fail?
Song Lim, Associate Research Fellow, Bank of Korea
Song Lim is an Associate Research Fellow of Economic Research Institute of Bank of Korea. His Research interests lie in the filed of Development Economic and North Korea economic system. He specialized in North Korea’s Fiscal and Monetary System, Marketization and Prices.
Rachel Minyoung Lee, Senior Fellow, Stimson Center and 38 North
Jenny Town, Senior Fellow and Director, Stimson Center and 38 North (Moderator)
