North Korea has recently laid out a blueprint for resolving its economic problems in a decade-long economic development plan. The nation’s official Korean Central News Agency said on January 15 that the North Korean cabinet decided to adopt a 10-year national economic development plan and to establish a new government body. Dubbed the State General Bureau for Economic Development, it will oversee the implementation of relevant projects. The news agency also said that the goal of the new plan is to build infrastructure, develop agriculture and basic industries including electric power, coal, oil and metals and to promote regional development. It added that when the plan is executed, North Korea will become not only a strong and confident nation but will also take a strategic position in Northeast Asia and in international economic relations. Here’s Cho Bong-hyeon from the Industrial Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute to tell us more about Pyongyang’s new development plan.

The ten-year development plan announced by North Korean authorities elaborates on economic projects to be implemented. Under the plan, North Korea will set up a government agency to handle everything that has to do with the projects. The communist nation has drawn up a number of economic development plans in the past, but many of them ended in failure due to the lack of an organization or system to execute the plans. The recent decision to establish a new agency in charge of all economic projects reflects the North Korean authorities’ resolve to overcome economic difficulties.

North Korea reportedly began preparing for the 10-year plan in 2009, but it is the first time that the North Korean media officially revealed the plan and the envisioned body to execute it. The plan is aimed at attracting more than 100 billion US dollars of foreign investment to a total of 12 areas, including agricultural developments aimed at easing food shortages, the creation of a logistics complex and the development of oil and energy. Why did North Korea announce this massive plan at this time?

The biggest stumbling block standing in the way of North Korea’s third-generation power shift to heir-apparent Kim Jong-un is the nation’s economic difficulties. Without a solution to this problem, the North Korean leadership cannot win public support for the power transfer. In the development plan, North Korea is demonstrating its will to make an all-out effort to tackle economic problems. I think the plan is a sort of message for its own people and the outside world. Within the nation, the North seeks to present a vision to the public that the economy will be improved in ten years. In doing so, the government hopes to settle the deteriorating public sentiment. Also, North Korea should strive for ending international sanctions to carry out the development plan properly. The plan is therefore viewed as a message to the outside world.

Through the new development plan, North Korea has declared that it will draw foreign investment again. The North Korean Central News Agency says the Cabinet entrusted the Chosun Taepung International Investment Group with full powers to execute key strategic plans for economic development. North Korea re-founded the Taepung Group in January 2010 with the purpose of luring foreign investment. The company is led by Korean-Chinese businessman Park Cheol-su. But it has reportedly drawn no investment whatsoever thus far due to international sanctions imposed on North Korea. Considering the group’s business activities are limited to China, some speculate that North Korea’s latest economic plan implies strengthening economic cooperation between the two communist allies. Mr. Cho also takes note of the fact that North Korea mentioned its goal of ranking among advanced countries by 2020, a shift from its previous goal of building a strong and prosperous nation by 2012.

North Korea has repeatedly stressed its ambitious goal of becoming a powerful and prosperous nation by 2012. But now, the North says the new economic development plan will also bring the country to the rank of advanced nations by 2020. North Korea seems to have concluded that it would be almost impossible to fulfill the previous goal. Instead, it designated the distant year of 2020 as the finishing line to become an economic power in an apparent attempt to relieve widespread discontent among the public.

Regarding the report that North Korea may have delayed its goal of becoming a strong and prosperous nation from 2012 to 2020, the South Korean government says it is closely observing North Korea. Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a regular briefing on January 17 that the recently announced plan was considered the North Korean authorities’ official economic development strategy, focused on attracting foreign investment. However, experts are skeptical as to whether North Korea’s ambitious plan will succeed, citing the international sanctions still in place and the poor investment environment in the communist nation.

The failed currency reform late in 2009 has only resulted in economic confusion in North Korea. The North is still subject to international sanctions, and the impoverished nation is running out of dollars. Due to inadequate financial resources, it will be hard for North Korea to resolve its economic problems on its own. It should attract foreign investment after all, but in the current situation, that won’t be easy, either. To woo foreign investment, North Korea must establish relevant legal and institutional systems and pursue reform and openness, which the North frowns upon. For those reasons, North Korea is expected to experience lots of difficulties. The development plan may end up being implemented at the level of economic cooperation between North Korea and China.

The key to the successful implementation of North Korea’s ten-year economic development plan is foreign investment. It will be far from easy for North Korea to fulfill this goal, with the nuclear issue still up in the air. Pyongyang should recognize that this is the most urgent task before addressing economic problems.



[Interview] Human Rights Group Offers Seasonal Class for N. Korean Teenage Defectors In a lecture room at the Education Center for Unification in Suyu-dong, northern Seoul, a group of teenage North Korean defectors is attending a Hangyeore Seasonal School English class. It is an alternative school that opens during summer and winter vacations for students from North Korea. Thirty North Korean students participated in the 15-day winter session that started January 1, staying together in a camp. Here’s Kim Mi-ri, assistant administrator of Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, which organized this seasonal class.

Hangyeore Seasonal School has held 20 rounds of summer and winter sessions so far. Thirty North Korean teenagers aged between 13 and 20 got together for the latest session, which was designed to help the participants improve their learning abilities and gain psychological stability. About ten volunteer teachers, including college students, graduate students and ordinary citizens, stayed with the North Korean students, while some teachers from local junior high schools also taught the class.

Some teachers stayed with the students around the clock, learning about the students’ characteristics to provide education tailored to their level. The students received intensive instruction in major subjects, such as the Korean language, English and mathematics, while person-to-person education was provided for those who struggled in math so they could address their weaknesses in a more effective way. In addition, the students participated in special sessions such as a theatrical performance, designed to help them restore their self-confidence and emotional stability. Meanwhile, voice actress Kang Hee-seon offered a special lecture on the correct pronunciation of the South Korean standard language, which the North Korean students find most challenging.

We tend to think the North Korean language is rather peculiar, although it isn’t any different from South Korean provincial dialects. I told the students not to feel bound by language rules but to correct their pronunciation little by little. I also advise them to smile while speaking. I discovered the kids have a hard time in pronouncing final consonants on the end of syllables. So I taught the students to articulate them accurately. I tried to teach them in a relaxed manner not to make them feel pressured.

This year’s session also included a special program in which teenagers from both South and North Korea mingled together. The purpose of the program was to remind them of the fact that youngsters from the North, too, will lead the future of a unified Korea. Organizers had been worried that the program might not appeal to North Korean students, but it turned out they were fond of the program. Here again is Ms. Kim.

Teenagers from South and North Korea spent time together, talking with each other and playing games. They toured the Unification Observatory in Gangwon Province and shared opinions about the reunification of Korea. I believe the get-together was truly meaningful. We also held a doll-making event, which is a UNCEF welfare promotion for children, with the participation of students from Kyunggi Girls’ High School. I thought male students from North Korea would not participate in the event because they grew up in a patriarchal North Korean society. Contrary to my expectations, they were eager to make dolls.

Many young students from North Korea often found themselves thrown into frustration before realizing a new dream here in South Korea, due to prejudices against them. Hangyeore Seasonal School makes new creative attempts every year to help them overcome their hard reality and adjust to the new South Korean environment properly. The North Korean participants express gratitude for what they experienced here, saying that they were able to tide over the difficulties and regained their confidence. Two students share their opinions.

...Before I came here, I had few friends. But I came to open my mind to friends here, and I really had such a comfortable and pleasant time. Here, students not only study major subjects but also learn how to get to know people and adapt to society.

...People may think it will be hard to study hard at this alternative school because only North Korean students gather here. But that’s not true. I find myself studying very hard here and this school is greatly helpful for me to pursue my dream.

Five-hundred fifty North Korean students have participated in the seasonal training sessions so far. This number is rather small, though, considering that more than 1,800 North Korean teenagers are currently residing in South Korea. Here’s hoping that more programs like Hangyeore Seasonal School will be created across the nation so many more defector students can adapt to their South Korean life in an easier and more effective way.