One of my favorite left-of-center political commentators, Claudia Rosett, weighs in on recent happenings up north related to the recent devaluation of NORK currency. As usual, she is pretty much right on point. Whether or not this opportunity is something that could be exploited is debateable, but it is certainly a positive indication that even the most severly oppressed have their limits. We’ll see.
While climate delegates are quarreling in Copenhagen, and President Barack Obama is collecting his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, an important story is unfolding in relative obscurity, in North Korea. Furious over a confiscatory currency “reform,” citizens of the world’s most repressive state have begun publicly criticizing their government.
It is hard to overstate just how bold a move that is. North Korea’s military “is on alert for a possible civil uprising,” according to a major South Korean newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo. Reports have been filtering out of North Korea that the country’s markets have become arenas of protest, with traders–many of them women in their 40s and 50s–publicly cursing the North Korean authorities.
Please read the rest for some fascinating insights and historical perspectives.
On a related note, last week I attended a lecture by Mr. Hwang Jang-yop, the highest level defector from North Korea to date. He was for the most part pessimistic about any change in attitude from the North as long as Kim, Jong-il remains in power. As he noted, if China can’t influence North Korea, there is nothing to be gained from the appeasement efforts of South Korea and the USA.
During the Q&A Mr. Hwang was asked about the potential for political upheaval as result of the money devaluation. He saw little liklihood of any lasting impact, explaining that the people most impacted were the black market profiteers. As usual, the ruling elite had plenty of advance warning and exchanged their won for Euros weeks ago. Still, he saw it as one step closer to the destabilazation that will one day lead to the collapse of the North.