Not monolithic: The need to better understand North Korea’s internal dynamics



Analysis Not monolithic: The need to better understand North Korea’s internal dynamics Designing effective DPRK policies requires ditching narrative of ‘one heart and mind’ and recognizing diverse groups Ruediger Frank January 7, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON NK Pro (Sept. 9, 2018) \| Various people stand on the streets of Pyongyang on a sunny day For 2022, a ruling party event once again replaced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s annual New Year’s address, with a state media editorial on the outcome of the December plenum providing an official look back at the past year and outlining some of the key strategies for the future. Yet despite a regular supply of such programmatic reports and other types of information, our knowledge and understanding of events in North Korea, and our ability to influence these in a targeted way, remains limited. The reasons are manifold, but one stands out: the very common Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01North Korea appears to start work on long-stalled Russia border bridge project 02Why a reported rise in North Korean wages won’t do much to improve welfare 03Top North Korean officials get bodyguards in likely security and status upgrade 04How Trump could reshape US strategy for countering North Korean cyber threats 05North Korea reveals new vertical take-off drones amid ‘modern warfare’ push 06How long-range strikes on Russia could impact North Korean troop deployments 07How North Korean hackers and IT workers collude to cause chaos 08What pro-Trump think tanks reveal about his likely North Korea policy priorities

About the Author

Ruediger Frank

Dr. Ruediger Frank is professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna, where he heads the Department of East Asian Studies. He was born and raised in socialist East Germany and lived for five years in the Soviet Union, experienced German Unification first hand as a 21-year-old, and then spent one semester as a language student at Kim-Il-Sung University in Pyongyang in 1991/1992. He holds an MA in Korean Studies and International Relations, and a Ph.D. in Economics. On the basis of these skills and experiences, he has written extensively on various topics related to North Korea, including economic history during the 1950s, the connections between ideology and economic reform after the 1990s famine, the transformation of state-socialism, tourism and trade, the political economy of unification and many more. He has been working in various Korea-related councils of the World Economic Forum since 2011-2021 and was named one of the 50 most influential German economists by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2012.

VIEW MORE ARTICLES BY Ruediger Frank Twitter Got a news tip?Let us know!