The Beginning of the Economic Problems in North Korea

The government refused to admit that there was an economical problem in order to keep the respect of those within the nation and outside the nation.

Most jobs that were available were offered by the state and even they didn’t offer nearly enough money to live on. The only other way to earn money was by setting up your own market, as there were no large independent business’s; even this was ineffective as there were very few things that could be sold legally and even that was shunned upon.This means the government could ensure that most would work hard and show complete allegiance to the regime every day just to receive coupons which can be handed in to the state run stores.

However this system failed  in the 1990s when people began to realise the economy was failing. The rations were becoming smaller and more sporadic Koreans were forced to look at other ways to get food. The appeal of buying from the black market increased as the quality and availability of food from the state stores decreased;the foreign food on the black market is often of better quality and cheaper. The more successful the black market is the more people consider becoming a part of it, both as buyers and as storekeepers.

Another piece of evidence the people were presented with about the fall in the economy in the 1990s was the fact that there was no longer money to buy resources for people’s jobs. It became a domino effect ,once the material for the clothes could no longer be made at one factory there was no longer anything for the employees at the the clothes factory to do. Eventually the government ran out of money to pay their employees.

They were kept at work under the false pretences that the lack of resources was temporary, keeping the citizen’s faith in the economy. Employees had to arrive on time for work everyday because otherwise they risked being punished; if it was up to a week and they didn’t have a good reason then they would be sent to a labor camp. They were kept at work to stop them from working at black markets and other places that would take the money away from the government.
Electricity began to run out, at first it would go of randomly, then it would come on randomly, eventually people began to realise that the electricity wouldn’t come on again.

North korean Coupon

 

Why a One Man Show Never Works, Especially in Economics

The Economy of North Korea is ‘centrally planned’; meaning most of the money is controlled by the government, citizens can only buy from government stores and they only receive money from their state jobs. The problem with this is whilst an entrepreneur their mistakes as their company will suffer because of them a dictator isn’t the one realises who pays for his mistakes so he often doesn’t realise the full effect of his mistakes until it is too late. The dictator’s of North Korea don’t use the things that are made in factories, so they don’t realise that whilst the citizens will use the products as they have no choice they won’t sell any exports because everyone else has better alternatives. This results in no money from abroad. Meaning the government can’t afford to lose money through exports. They are always guaranteed food to eat and a comfortable bed to sleep in so the don’t have to be fully aware of the food they are taking away when they yet again develop their nuclear program.

Civil War in North Korea

The Original divide of Korea

Korea was originally a part of the Japanese empire however after the end of the second world war the allies took it from Japan and split it between the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R. They split it across the 38th parallel (shown below).

Lead up to the War

 Many question if the Korean war was really between North Korea and South Korea or the U.S.S.R and the U.S. However in March 1949 Kim Ill Sung asked for Stalin’s permission to invade South Korea and he said no several times, as he saw it as not ‘advisable’. He finally approved it in January 1950. Showing that although Stalin wanted to spread communism he was able to see that South Korea may have a lot of military support and wasn’t willing to risk North Korea for a united Korea. However Kim ill sung was more single minded, Never once taking back his proposal over the course of almost a year; the first example of his overconfidence and lack of experience.

In addition to this it is highly unlikely that Kim Ill Sung would’ve let himself become Stalin’s puppet for two main reasons. Firstly in order for the public to feel threatened by him in the future he has to of appeared forceful at all times. Secondly, it simply isn’t in a dictator’s nature to let himself be controlled.

Despite this once the war started the U.S.S.R and the U.S saw it not only as an opportunity to help South Korea and North Korea but to cause the other to lose money and soldiers. The U.S.S.R and the U.S.As interests 

The War

The war began in June 1950 when North Korea invaded the south. The U.S then called on the U.N to brand the North Koreans as aggressors. The U.N did this, and for the first time, sent in military assistance. This however is probably more an indication of the U.N feeling threatened by Stalin rather than Kim Il Sung, because even though Kim Il sung wasn’t a puppet he was seen as one.

China intervened in mid-september. China had many reasons to want to intervene:

• They worried that the U.N forces would cross the border to china whilst still fighting the North Koreans.
• They worried that if they took North Korea it made it easier for them to invade China at any point in the future.

The thing that triggered Chinas attack was General McArthur marching his troops further than he had agreed with China.

The war then went on for a year until they reached a stalemate in 1951.They then went on to discuss the future state of the civil war however they only agreed on an armistice, a temporary truce.This leaves South Korea and North Korea technically still at war however whilst South Korea will avoid war at all costs North Korea would do anything they could to gain more power.

The point at which they decided to split the country on was the 38th parallel, coincidently the place it was originally split on after WW2.

North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development Timeline

1985

North Korea joins the Treaty of the non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapon state.

1986

They start their operation of a five-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon after seven years of plan with Soviet help.

1993

They say they will quit the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but later delays their withdrawal.

1994

They sign an agreement with the US under which the North shuts down the plutonium-based Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for help in building two nuclear reactors for producing electricity.

2002

January 29

The US president, George Bush, labeled North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil".

October 4

Washington says North Korea admitted to a visiting US delegation that it has a uranium enrichment program.

November 21

US-led consortium says it is suspending construction of the two new reactors.

2003

January 11

They withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

August 27-29

They join first round of six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing, which include China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US.

2005

February 10

They announce they have nuclear weapons.

2006

October 9

They hold an underground nuclear test blast.

2007

February 13

They agree to a six-nation talk to take first steps to disarmament, after the US moves to help free some $25m frozen in North Korean accounts.

July 14

North Korea shuts down its Yongbyon reactor.

September 6

Israeli warplanes bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor site allegedly built with North Korean design help.

October 3

The six countries at nuclear talks agree that North Korea will provide a complete declaration of its nuclear programs and disable facilities at its main reactor complex by December 31.

November 5

They start disabling the Yongbyon reactor under the watch of US experts.

December 31

They miss its deadline for declaring all its nuclear programmes.

2008

February 26

The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, in the highest-level cultural exchange between the US and North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.

April 24

The White House says North Korea assisted Syria's secret nuclear program and that the nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel was not intended for peaceful purposes.

May 8

North Korea gives the US more than 18,000 pages of records on the Yongbyon reactor after discussions between the two countries to resolve disagreements over what its nuclear declaration will include.

May 16

The US announces it will provide North Korea with 50,000 tonnes of food aid as a humanitarian gesture unrelated to the nuclear talks.

June 26

US begins steps to remove North Korea from list of states sponsoring terrorism after Pyongyang submitted inventory of its nuclear activities.

August 26

Pyongyang suspends disablement of nuclear facilities, accusing US of reneging on disarmament agreement.

September 3

South Korea says reconstruction has started at North Korea's Yongbyon complex.

September 24

UN nuclear inspectors expelled from North Korea, which pledges to resume plutonium processing.

October 12

Pyongyang says will resume dismantling nuclear weapons programme after US removes North Korea from list of terrorism-sponsoring states.

November 12

The relationship between North and South Korea get worse with Pyongyang announcing that it will close border crossings in December.

2009

February 24

Speculation mounts that North Korea plans long-range missile tests in defiance of American warnings not to destabilise region.

March 30

US and Japan deploy anti-missile batteries on land and sea to shoot down possible debris from the expected missile test although US insists has no intention of shooting down missile itself.

April 3

Barack Obama warns North Korea cannot go ahead with missile tests with permission.

April 4

Pyongyang launches a long-range rocket over Japan, drawing international disapproval.