"North Korea runs three economies, not one —…" — Jonathan K. Wev (#c983)

Card #c983IR // #c983SynthesisMilitary report

North Korea runs three economies, not one — the official command economy plus two parallel capitalist economies, the jangmadang (market ground) economy and an elite economy, that emerged when the 1990s famine broke the state's distribution system.

— In our words · Source: The Communist State of North Korea: A Capitalist Society (Jonathan K. Wev)

[Use when]

When the official system fails, people build a parallel one — and the parallel economy, not the official one, is where the leverage sits.

[Why it matters]

Sanctions and negotiations target the official economy, but daily life runs on markets the state doesn't control — pressure aimed at the command economy keeps missing where the real economy lives.