North Korean capitalism is increasingly being recognized in the country’s law. Since the July 1 2002 measures, the DPRK legal code has come to recognize and proscribe a wide range of market practices. These laws were passed by the country’s legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), and are freely available to download (in Korean) from the ROK’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).

North Korean laws accept that markets are widespread across the country and cover many aspects of economic life. As we shall see below: