North Korea, as probably every reader of NK News knows, is dominated by markets. A “market” is not only something that’s as far from “a state-controlled planned economy” as can be, it is also a place where people trade goods – including smuggled ones – talk more freely and gradually become more independent from Leviathan. This is certainly not good for the North Korean authorities.

Kim Jong Il made numerous attempts to close the markets – and failed completely. This clearly shows that the markets have become a force to be reckoned with in North Korea – even the seemingly