HRF hosts inaugural NK Insider Forum in Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, Korea — On Dec. 19, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) hosted the inaugural NK Insider Forum, a unique conference addressing critical issues related to North Korean human rights. The theme of this year’s forum, “Cracks in the Regime: The Exodus of North Korea’s Elite and Global Responses,” highlighted the defection of North Korea’s elite and the international community’s role in responding to the ongoing crisis.

Economy

Foreign Currency is Now the Key to North Korea’s Survival 

Despite being closed off from the world, politically and economically, North Korea cannot survive without foreign currency. This, of course, applies to some degree to all countries in the international trading system. But ever since the 1994-1998 famine – which North Koreans refer to as the ‘Arduous March’ – foreign currency earning in the country has taken on a unique character. Not only has it become the key to the country’s continued survival. But the system itself that depends on it can no longer be considered normal.

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