Understanding Kim Jong Un’s Economic Policymaking: Implications and Opportunities

Please join the Stimson Center for an expert panel discussing the findings of a year-long study of North Korea’s economic policymaking and their implications for US and ROK policymakers.

North Korea’s economic policy is not just about trade statistics, budget figures or the impact of international sanctions. It revolves around the deeper and broader questions of resource allocation priorities and the balance between central control and latitude in lower-level units. These two issues inevitably have implications for North Korea’s domestic and foreign policy and offer a glimpse of the extent to which Kim Jong Un will carry out economic reform. How the North Korean economic discourse evolves is critical as the country continues to experiment with new ideas and practices to improve its “economic management methods,” a codeword for the country’s reform-oriented economic measures.

This event was made possible through generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation and Korea Foundation.