Informally, the North Korean economy is composed of a dynamic black and grey market sector and a moribund state sector, with the former increasing colonizing and reviving the latter. Markets are already enshrined in law to a highly limited extent.

However, in formal terms, the market sector is actually divided into two separate components. This separation is highly significant from the regime’s point of view, and is worthy of our attention for the simple reason that understanding regime economic policy is crucial in understanding the DPRK’s present and future.

The regime continues to