On April 13th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) Studies hosted the North Korea Economic Forum “How North Korea is Managing its Economic Crisis”. Moderated by Professor Yonho Kim, Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies, the forum had four expert speakers including Bradley Babson, former Chair of the DPRK Economic Forum at the U.S.-Korea Institute, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and presently serves on the World Economic Forum Council on the Korean Peninsula; Eul-Chul Lim, Associate Professor and the Director of the ICNK Center at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES), Kyungnam University; Min Chao Choy, data correspondent for NK News and NK Pro; and Rachel Minyoung Lee, Nonresident Fellow with 38 North at the Stimson Center and former North Korea analyst at Open Source Enterprise. The forum begins with Min Chao Choy’s discussion on Economic Indicators. She discusses the timeline of trades that occurred in North Korea and how the economy has not recovered since the August 2020 lockdown. The next speaker, Rachel, discusses noticeable damages to the state’s economic management and projects. Afterwards, Bradley Babson focuses his discussion on the fiscal and financial impacts faced by North Korea. Finally, Eul-Chul shares his perspective on Kim Jong-un’s extreme measures and precautions during the pandemic.
Following the discussions, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions, including how state-owned enterprises have integrated into the informal economy for inputs and outputs, if the collapse of the imports and exports are due to the pandemic or lack of foreign exchange, impacts of suspending the pandemic restrictions in North Korea, and if the imported machinery from China is allowing factories in North Korea to run well.
