North Korea wants to construct a socialist economy: has it led to the shutting down of one of the ma

North Korea wants to build a socialist economy. This announcement came after the ruling party’s central committee meeting on Friday 20 April. Kim Jong-un chaired the meeting was loudly stressed halting the nuclear and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests and shutting a nuclear test site in Punggey-RI, Gilju County, North Hamkyung Province.

The decision was unanimously adopted, however, simultaneously, North Korea also declared the success of the Byuingjin strategy of economic and nuclear-armed constructions. Nonetheless, on the other hands, this was North Korea’s self-satisfaction, because two tracks of the economic and nuclear construction on the Byungjin policy guidance had failed to deal with the ongoing economic crisis.

For example, a UN’s report in March 2018, ‘the 2018 World Food Crisis’ by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), analysed 41%, which is over 10.5 million, North Korean citizens had suffered the famine last year. The figure shows an increased of 500,000 from the previous report in 2016. North Korea is now amongst 37 imminent crisis countries and needs at least 460,000 tons of food from imports or outside aids.

North Korea was convinced by the promise of the Byungjin policy that was the simultaneous development of a powerful state nuclear force alongside a more prosperous economy. North Korea’s declared victory of nuclear and economic construction has not been successful from this viewpoints.

Nonetheless, the point North Korea emphasised through this very public announcement was the completion of the nuclear weapons project. For example, Kim Jong-un said, “The northern nuclear test site has completed its missions,” because “nuclear weaponisation had been achieved.”

The argument arises, however, from Victor Cha, a former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House’s National Security Council, that this was a kind of formal declaration that North Korea has become a nuclear-weapon state. The track was very similar to the path followed by Pakistan, argued Mr Cha.

To analyse this, North Korea has closed only one nuclear test site so far. There are at least several other nuclear test sites available, especially in ChaGang Province, where the vast military arms facilities are placed under the mountains. The second highest mountain ‘Jeng Mountain’ (1050m) in ChangPyong, North Hamkyung Province and at least one battalion is located on this mountain to protecting something. Modern satellites have their limitations, one of which is to look underneath mountains, especially when it goes down over 800m.

What it tells, North Korea does not yet intend to give up its nuclear weapons. Hopefully, the talks of Seoul-Pyongyang and Washington-Pyongyang will draw out more available options.

Alongside this move, however, what is a noticeable challenge for North Korea is focusing economic construction. People do need to be liberated from starvation as soon as possible. In general, once people are able to have sufficient to eat the next target can be an improvement in their living standards after which the next development will, hopefully, be a demand for political participation in a journey towards democracy.

An example of this South Korean democracy today, which it came through economic improvements first, or Hungary, where the democratic process followed alongside the economic development after the collapse of the Soviet Union. How about modern China or Vietnam? Will these two economically improving countries take the next steps on a democratic road? Let’s see how willing the Chinese and Vietnamese people will be to make this transition. Nonetheless, in the meantime the Chinese leader’s extension of his long-term reign and the establishment of the one directive presidential system may have delayed forthcoming democracy.

So, how does this economic construction by the North Korean regime work? Will the summits of Seoul-Pyongyang and Washington-Pyongyang reduce the sanctions imposed by the international community which might help to construct national economy?

Some analysts argue that North Korea gave up its two tracks of nuclear and economic constructions because alongside this process, the construction of a socialist economy would not work. The proof of this has been demonstrated by North Korea with coming up talks, for example, closing a nuclear test site and ceasing the nuclear weapon and ICBMs tests.

This might also be interpreted North Korea’s desired economic building is for starving people. Nonetheless, one of the most significant findings caused the North Korean regime’s movement was the survival circumstances by the maximum powers of the international sanctions. An implication of this is the possibility that North Korea’s recent movement was all spontaneous. Pyongyang was reconfirming its intention of denuclearisation because they need aid, imports and exports.

Taken together, these findings suggest that North Korea aimed to change its image from that of threatening peace and threatening democracies. From this suggestion, thus, North Korea wants to become a normal state alongside keeping the international peace and security. The findings of this movement suggested that North Korea had participated in the Winter Olympics, and used public images of Olympics Diplomacy or Smile Diplomacy which was led by Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong.

Moreover, when Kim Jong-un made a secret visit to China and met with the President, Xi Jinping, in March, the Chinese media extolled Kim Jong-un’s active public diplomacy. North Korea has invited the President of China to Pyongyang in June and the detailed schedules are in process. Kim Jong-un’s onward public diplomacy continued by sending a delegation to Russia for the summit of Pyongyang-Moscow in September.

Perhaps North Korea is taking a new tactical strategy begin with the genuine peace-seeker attitude through public activism. Yet, all these demonstrated diplomacies, shutting down a nuclear test site and halting the nuclear and ICBM tests considers, it is presumably an illustration of North Korea’s desperate situation which is now not just for the citizens but also the bureaucrats. The key point to stress however, is that economic development would be welcomed by most North Korean escapees because this will improve the life of the North Korean citizens. However, concerns remain that even if an improved economic environment is offered for the regime, this must include all of the 25 million North Korean population, not only the minority bureaucrats. This process will depend on the North Korean government and how genuinely the regime takes the denuclearisation.

Two possibilities are predictable in this way, the first indication is if the process goes well it might means that the economic door opens so there will be no retreat for the North Korean regime. On the other hand if it doesn’t harvest any good production this still leaves North Korea increasingly under pressure, not only by the hunger public as it grows amongst bureaucrats and North Korean diplomats together. It is very important that we remind ourselves that these diplomats were it can be assumed that their political notions support the pragmatic direction.

Perhaps Kim Jong-un’s announcement on 20 April was a little surprise including, as it did, the stopping of the nuclear and ICBM tests, the shutting down of one of the major nuclear test sites and facility, not to transfer nuclear weapons and technology, engage in active dialogues with the international community, and to focus on the economic construction. Nonetheless, interpreting this statement the key focus was to construct a socialist economy. The steps North Korea emphasised were strengthened dialogues with neighbouring countries and the international community. In fact, North Korea claims this by herself to pursuing the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and the world.

In the statement, however, the most noticeable resolution was the aim of ‘building a socialist economy which is alongside new high-level demands of the revolutionary development.’ This was the highlighting of the two previous Kims political notions and directions. The adaptation has largely explained the business of the Workers’ Party and how the nation to construct a socialist economy upon the notions of Kim ll-sung and Kim Jong-il's guidance of the revolutionary direction. This initiative is reminiscent of the system of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s (CPV) in upholding Ho Chi-Minh’s notions and guidance, and the party’s commanding economy whilst accepting private entrepreneurship and marketisation through the reform policy of ‘Doi Moi’ (renovation).

A senior researcher, Cho Sung-ryul, at the Institute of South Korea National Security Strategy, analysed that North Korea could not discuss the denuclearisation whilst keeping nuclear and economic constructions together. One side has to conclude in order to focus on the economy and become a normal state, argued Mr Cho sung-ryul. In other words, this has been the calculation of North Korea’s provocation of the nuclear and missile tests over the past years.

This strategical step comes to the practical extension from January 2018, which did not hesitate to take available diplomatic efforts and earned coming up the international talks. Alongside this move, perhaps it was a time to announce to the world the completion the nuclear programme so this nuclear test site is not needed anymore because it is now heading in it’s a new direction of economic construction.

Kim Jong-un knew fully that the necessary steps of improving foreign relations is vital to the new movement. And this approach of escaping from the nuclear and missile tests so that could reduce the current situation of the economic isolation intensified by the sanctions imposed by the international community.

Perhaps if these two dialogues –‘Pyongyang-Washington’ and ‘Pyongyang-Washington’ – are successful, North Korea would able to create a favourable road towards a successful economic environment.

Is it be possible to predict an agreement along the lines of Iran’s nuclear deal? However, some scholars suggest that more work needs to be done with the process of Iran’s nuclear deal.

Professor Yang Moo-jin, MA North Korea studies department at a South Korean university, said that foreign relations have to improve for an economic road and improving the lives of North Koreans inside. Denuclearisation would be the vital step in that process, although nothing can predict at this moment what will be the outcome.

Amid the processes, some scholars have also expected that North Korea may undertake to build the economy through a Chinese-style reform. Professor Yang Moo-Jin adds that ‘it is possible that Kim Jong-un will take reform and open-door model of the Chinese style of the gradual change process because maintaining the Communist party and ideology is the main interests.

Nonetheless, having an insight into what the country of North Korea is really like and much the people are suffering through human rights abuses in the gulags, with prisoners facing torture, and those of around 500,000 North Korean escapees in China, South Korea, US, UK and elsewhere, were issues that were not discussed during the ruling party’s central committee meeting on April 20th. The reality of the suffering of the North Korean people continues, it will be a long road and on that road there will be facing many process along the way.