The following article is the second in a two-part series examining North Korea’s Five-year Economic Strategy — what it reveals about the country’s economy, why the strategy failed and how the government needs to learn from its mistakes. Part I is available here.

North Korea is now facing one of the worst economic crises in recent memory due in large part to the country’s self-imposed COVID-19 border closure and international sanctions targeting its nuclear and missile programs.

The current situation spotlights just how far the DRPK has fallen short of eye-popping goals for