N. Korea: Market forces 1, brute force, 0

Economist ^ | 02/11/10

[TigerLikesRooster]

North Korea's regime trips up

Market forces 1, brute force, 0

An embarrassing climb-down puts Kim Jong Il in a difficult position

Feb 11th 2010 | SEOUL AND TOKYO | From The Economist print edition Reuters

HOWEVER loathsome his neighbours find Kim Jong Il, the nuclear-armed North Korean dictator, most admit that beneath the big hair lurks the mind of a tactical genius with a flair for survival. At home North Koreans are smothered by his ruthless personality cult. Abroad, he is an adept blackmailer: act mad enough to be dangerous; then conciliate for cash.

Recently, however, he has made tactical mistakes on both counts. Diplomats think none is so serious as to endanger his regime. But the blunders give heart to those who believe they can eventually push North Korea back to talks about dismantling its nuclear arsenal. And they reaffirm the benefits of what Americans call “strategic patience”: waiting until North Korea is desperate enough to offer concessions.

Even the regime appears, in its own odd way, to have admitted the most recent blunder. News reports suggest North Korea has reversed some elements of a crackdown on private enterprise that it unleashed with a cack-handed redenomination of the won on November 30th. In the interim, the currency collapsed, the price of rice surged by as much as 50 times, and much of traders’ working capital for buying and selling goods was wiped out. As food distribution seized up, some rare grumbles of protest were heard.

But since early February, regulations on trading in the jangmadang, or markets, across North Korea appear to have been lifted. Implausible official prices have been posted—from 240 won ($1.78) for a kilo of rice (a bit less than a pair of socks) to 25 won for a toothbrush.

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[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[SevenofNine]

That look like one of Chia Pet doubles

[nw_arizona_granny]

Bump.