Ruediger Frank (University of Vienna), Skand Ranjan Tayal (Institute of Chinese Studies)

North Korea, has become a major issue of concern due to its geo-strategic importance, its possession of nuclear weapons and threats for regional security, and humanitarian and HR issues. The country is dealing with a long-term structural crisis of its inefficient state-socialist economy, mid-term effects of economic sanctions that went from specific to comprehensive, and short-term effects of the Covid-pandemic and related restrictions. This talk will address the question of how to increase the likelihood of a deep and broad economic reform drive in North Korea. It will attempt to take a systematic approach and show that efforts directed at the elite and the middle class, and aimed at increasing perceived gains from reforms and losses from non-reforms, are the most promising measures. This sheds a new light on various policies applied by the West, and helps explain the rationale behind current North Korean policies such as inward-orientation and fight against cultural infiltration.