Does economic discourse in North Korea lead or follow policy change? Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of all articles published in Kyŏngje Yŏngu between 1987 and 2020, Steven Denney and Peter Ward find that reform-oriented discourse consistently lags behind domestic marketization by roughly three quarters, while largely overlooking episodes of external opening and retrenchment. Rather than anticipating policy shifts, economic discourse primarily serves to legitimize and codify changes that have already occurred.
This event is hosted by the University of Vienna Department of East Asian Economy of Society and will take place at 9:30am CEST/ 3:30am ET / 12:30am PT.
About the Speakers
Peter Ward is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute's Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy, and is also a senior analyst at NK Pro.
Steven Denney is an assistant professor of International Relations and Korean Studies at Leiden University and an affiliated researcher with the Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities.