• Land and Housing Review
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.49-60
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• 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to open 19 Economic Development Zones which are located in all over the country, as a new economic development strategy. The strategy is estimated for accepting change from socialistic planning economic system into socialistic market economic system gradually. South Korean government is busy preparing for reunification between South and North Korea. Recently, many forums and seminars for the issue, 'reunification' are held by public side as well as private sector. This study is focused on making practical strategy for developing 13 Economic Development Zones which were established in 2013 in concurrence with South and North Korea. The study assessed investment potential of the 13 zones in terms of locational, economic and legal competency from the investor's perspective of south koreans. 5 E.D.Zs, Songrim, Hyungdong, Heungnam, Chungjin, Waudo were chosen to be developed on the preferential basis. Development cooperation between South and North Korea on the 13 E.D.Zs will increase the income of north koreans in rural areas by creating jobs, contribute to boost North Korea's economic growth, and bring forward economic integration between South and North Korea.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.122-142
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• 2016

This paper examines the implications of North Korea's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) strategy since the early 1990s in terms of the shifts in both North Korea's economic system and geopolitical order on the Korean peninsula. Specifically, it analyzes the shifts in North Korea's SEZ policy in three different aspects-North Korea's unique territorial logic, stress on decentralization, and comparison with Chinese reform and opening-up. Based upon this analysis, this paper criticizes a linear approach to understand North Korea's economic transformation from isolation to opening-up, and explores the dynamics of North Korea SEZ strategy in various dimensions. It contends that North Korea's SEZ strategy is neither an inevitable choice from economic difficulty nor an adoption of Chinese model of reform and opening up. Rather this paper focuses on the geopolitical logic and local development imperatives underlying SEZ strategy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.106 no.4
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• pp.487-496
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• 2017

The marketization in North Korea is spreading rapidly. This study proposes forest rehabilitation strategy for North Korea in light of their major shift toward market economy. This current trend of marketization in North Korea is now affecting the forest sector, especially the way the residents utilize small forest land. For analyzing the influence of marketization on forest management in North Korea, we reviewed the official documents issued by North Korea and related materials of North Korean marketization. The government of Kim Jong Eun has set up policies and systems regarding the spread of marketization, such as guaranteeing individuals a right to dispose certain products on their own and establishing a special economic zone to attract foreign investments. In the forestry sector, the North Korean government has been trying to fully implement its forest restoration plan by carrying out measures like re-claiming of sloping lands that had been previously used by residents. However, as marketization progresses, it is expected that there lies much difficulty in government-led massive mobilization for forest restoration due to the increase of illegal logging to meet high demand for timber, illegal firewood harvesting, collecting non-timber products for livelihoods and illegal crop cultivation to sell in the market. Therefore, South Korea's support for forest restoration should also consider the recent marketization phenomenon in North Korea. It is necessary to formulate strategic measures such as conducting joint commercialization project on agroforestry management using cooperative farming unit, helping to improve income source from small forest lands, and to activate a comprehensive mountain village special economic zone by utilizing forest business. We do hope that our proposed forest rehabilitation strategy in this paper regarding the changes in North Korea's marketization and forest policy can give a meaningful suggestion on supporting forest restoration in North Korea in an effective way.