Why N. Korea won’t be worried by its recent reputational disasters

NK News ^ | December 17th, 2015 | Andrei Lankov

[TigerLikesRooster]

Why N. Korea won't be worried by its recent reputational disasters

Debacles of recent Orascom investment and Morangbong visit to China will have little impact

Andrei Lankov

December 17th, 2015

The end of 2015 was marked by two events which, at the first glance, would be likely to damage the international standing of North Korea.

In late November the Egyptian building and telecom company Orascom finally admitted what had been known in narrow circles for two years: that its North Korean state partners had taken over the joint Koryolink cellphone network, and that Orascom had been unable to reap any profit from its seemingly successful investment in North Korea.

And in mid-December a much trumpeted Beijing tour by the Moranbong band - Kim Jong Un's favorite girl group - was cancelled just a few hours before the first scheduled performance, for unknown reasons. The Pyongyang beauties were rushed to the airport and went home, leaving a number of high-level Chinese visitors perplexed and uncertain.

/snip

Let's start with the Orascom affair. It confirms what experienced watchers of the North Korean economy have known for ages: that the Pyongyang government perceives international economic cooperation as a zero sum game, and does not care much - if at all - about its international standing. This means that foreign partners are cheated as soon as they outlive their usefulness, which in most cases means as soon as goods and services are delivered. As Aidan Foster-Carter once remarked, these are people who would never do anything as vulgar as paying their bills, and this is not going to change any time soon.

/snip

Yet this long history of cheating has done little historically to stop over-optimistic, over-adventurous or misinformed business types from falling into the same trap, again and again.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Yet this long history of cheating has done little historically to stop over-optimistic, over-adventurous or misinformed business types from falling into the same trap, again and again.

There's a sucker born every minute, and North Koreans know it so well.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[COBOL2Java]

This means that foreign partners are cheated as soon as they outlive their usefulness, which in most cases means as soon as goods and services are delivered.

Kinda sounds like the way the Republican Party treats conservative voters!

[GenXteacher]

Reputational disaster- I’d say the only reputation they have is being a disaster.