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.
DPRK’s Increasingly Vulnerable Regime Desperate to Block Cross-Border Information Flows
North Korea has a long history of blocking and suppressing information from the outside world, so after the country finally reopened its borders about three years after the threat of COVID-19 somewhat subsided, the regime’s subsequent attempts to further stem the tide of information flows have caused concern among North Koreans and others outside the country.