| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Unlike other surviving communist regimes (China, Vietnam, Cuba), North Korea has not been able to achieve sustained growth by reforming its economy. This article will trace the failure of economic reform in North Korea to the prevailing system of political governance based on Monolithic Leadership System (MLS) reinforced by Military First Politics (MFP). The political risk aversion of the MLS-MFP system permits only an ultra cautious reform strategy, but the potential of even ultra cautious reform cannot be fully realized. The detrimental effects of the MLS-MFP system include: excessive restriction of the development of grassroots capitalism; entrenchment of the wasteful economics of militarization and the perpetuation of international isolation. The combination of stubborn regime under economic duress sets off a vicious circle of economic failure, anti-marketization, and external confrontation. Escape from this predicament depends on external initiative focused on steering the regime back onto the path of ultra cautious reform, especially by easing its need for militarization. The viability of such an initiative depends on the extent the US is prepared to accept the regime in its current form.
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