Suchergebnisse

This article, based on newly available materials from the former Soviet archives, deals with the famine that struck a large part of the North Korean countryside in the winter of 1954–1955. The famine was related to the policies of crash industrialization and collectivization favored by Kim Il-sung—or at least, this is how many contemporaries, including Soviet diplomats, saw it. The famine, mentioned only once in openly available publications of the period, sparked political instability and prompted the urgent delivery of food assistance from the USSR and China. Soviet leaders, seeing the famine as another sign of the dangerous trends of Kim Il-Sung's policies, gave Pyongyang strong "advice," demanding a moderation of policies and partial halt of the collectivization drive. The "advice" was followed, but the entire confrontation contributed to the further buildup of tensions between Moscow and Kim Il-Sung.

The current crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has resulted in an explosive increase in the illegal migration of North Koreans to Northeast China. The refugees' presence is seen as a nuisance by all sides involved, but their experience is increasingly influencing domestic policy in North Korea.

The article attempts to re-construct the motivation behind the current North Korean policies, especially in the domestic sphere. It is argued tht North Korean leaders have valid political reasons not to imitate the Chinese-style reform, and are likely to

The article attempts to re-construct the motivation behind the current North Korean policies, especially in the domestic sphere. It is argued tht North Korean leaders have valid political reasons not to imitate the Chinese-style reform, and are likely to

The current crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has resulted in an explosive increase in the illegal migration of North Koreans to Northeast China. The refugees' presence is seen as a nuisance by all sides involved, but their experience is increasingly influencing domestic policy in North Korea.

This article explains why the North Korean goverment has attempted to reassert state control over society—which had been eroding from 1994-2002—and offers predictions regarding the impact that this shift will likely have on North Korean society.