Stephan Haggard Quoted in The Economist on North Korean Rule
In a league of its own
05/19/2011
The Economist
SOME governments are worse than others. And then there’s North Korea’s. Not only does it run the country as a vast gulag. Not only has it so mismanaged its economy that probably millions do not have enough to eat. It also spreads mischief internationally. North Korea has not so much a foreign policy, more a criminal record. It covers terrorist mass-murder, nuclear proliferation, large-scale kidnapping, arms- and drug-smuggling, counterfeiting and even shoplifting. It seems lunatic to think the outside world can do serious business with such a regime. Yet it has no choice, for two reasons: North Korea is a nuclear menace; and some of its people risk starvation.
In recent days, fresh evidence has emerged of North Korea’s criminality. China has blocked publication of a report on North Korea’s proliferation activities for the UN Security Council. But it has leaked anyway. It accuses North Korea of the transfer of “prohibited ballistic-missile related items” to Iran on regular scheduled flights. Despite a supposedly rigorous international regime designed to prevent this kind of traffic, North Korea is plausibly accused of carrying it on. It has precious few other sources of revenue; and risking yet further sanctions probably seems a gamble worth taking.
North Korea has also just been caught busting some other UN sanctions, including the arms embargo imposed in December 2009 on Eritrea. A ship carrying $15m-worth of rockets, surface-to-air missiles and explosives recently intercepted in the Indian Ocean was on its way to Eritrea from North Korea.
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Stephan Haggard can provide commentary on current developments in the Asia-Pacific, including particularly Korea, and on the politics of economic reform and globalization.
Visit Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland's Blog on North Korea.
