How North Korea’s Economy Defies Sanctions Indicators show day-to-day commerce in the country has remained resilient, rice prices are stable and gasoline prices have eased By Eun-Young Jeong and Dasl Yoon
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sanctions-were-supposed-to-cripple-north-koreas-economy-theyre-not-working-11551116032
The U.S. has been leading a world-wide campaign to pressure North Korea into giving up its nuclear arsenal through an increasingly stringent sanctions regime. Available evidence suggests it’s not working.
Economic indicators show day-to-day commerce in the country has remained resilient. And many residents, having lived through much harsher conditions in the 1990s, appear to be adapting as market forces take deeper root, according to three dozen defectors, humanitarian workers, government officials and other visitors interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The lack of impact is making things tricky for Donald Trump as he heads to this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. The U.S. wants Pyongyang to freeze its nuclear weapons and missile programs while the two sides continue far-reaching talks on denuclearization.
Tougher sanctions, including new restrictions on foreign trade approved in 2016 and 2017, have caused North Korea some pain, depriving the regime and elites of revenue from commerce with other countries, including China.
In other ways, North Korea’s economy appears to be holding up well. Rice prices have remained stable, and gasoline prices, which rose after sanctions were tightened, have fallen significantly from highs in the fall of 2017.
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