In recent years, North Korean workers overseas have begun to attract increasing attention of the ... more In recent years, North Korean workers overseas have begun to attract increasing attention of the international media, human rights activists, and academics. They are often depicted as being "modern-day slaves," but the present article challenges this approach. It relies on a number of sources, including interviews with former workers (currently residing outside North Korea) and their Russian employers. In many regards, overseas North Korean workers face problematic circumstances. Nonetheless, workers compete for the opportunity to go overseas, since the overseas work, in spite of all hardships, is much preferable to all jobs they can realistically have at home. Rather than seeing themselves as victims, more or less all our interviewees perceive themselves as active and entrepreneurial individuals who succeeded in securing work that, in spite of hard conditions, opens avenues for upward social mobility. They faced constraints and difficulties, of which they are all too aware, but also had agency to act within these constraints. We offer a critical examination of the "forced labor" claim and the applicability of the International Labour Organization's Forced Labour Convention to the issue.
For six decades, the idea of unification as Korea’s supreme political goal has been enshrined in ... more For six decades, the idea of unification as Korea’s supreme political goal has been enshrined in the official mythology of both North and South Korea. The lip service to this “unification mythology” is still paid by virtually all political forces in both the Koreas, but the actual policy of both Pyongyang and Seoul nowadays is clearly based on a very different set of assumptions: Both sides try to avoid situations which might lead to unification.
... Usually, these meetings are convened once a week and tend to be very short, 10 to 20 minutes ... more ... Usually, these meetings are convened once a week and tend to be very short, 10 to 20 minutes (H1, H5, H6, survey). Ch'oe Chin-i described the bitter resentment caused by her PG head's penchant for con-vening PG meetings daily and continuing them ad nauseam. ...
The current crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has resulted in an explosive incr... more 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.
North Korea today is a most unusual post-socialist state. Market actors and market prices are int... more North Korea today is a most unusual post-socialist state. Market actors and market prices are integral to economic life, but private property remains illegal, and private enterprise outside the household is de jure non-existent. In such an institutional context, some market processes are more autonomous in relation to the state, while others are more embedded within state structures. In this article, we offer a theoretical account of the shape that North Korea's market economy has taken, developed from a set of fishing industry case studies. We note four broad categories of enterprises: closely embedded, loosely embedded, semi-autonomous, and autonomous. By relative autonomy/embeddedness we mean control over fixed assets, cash flow, and operational decisions such as wage and price setting. We postulate three major determinants of embeddedness/ autonomy: (1) relative strategic resource scarcity between state and market actors, (2) monitoring costs, and (3) institutional evolution that reflects these realities, though to varying extents.
This article deals with the problems of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea. I... more This article deals with the problems of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea. In the past, most such defectors came from privileged groups in the North Korean population, and their adjustment to the new environment did not pose a significant problem. However, from the mid-1990s, defectors began to come from the far less privileged groups. They experience serious problems related to jobs, education, crime, and social adjustment. Recent years have seen a dramatic but not always openly stated change in the official South Korean attitude toward defectors: from a policy explicitly aimed at encouraging defection, Seoul has moved to the policy of quietly discouraging it. There are fears that encouraging defection will undermine the policy of peaceful engagement with the North. There is also the perception that refugees are outsiders, not quite adjustable to the conditions of South Korean society and thus a social and budgetary burden.
Abstract The denuclearisation of North Korea is unlikely. Neither pressure nor rewards will persu... more Abstract The denuclearisation of North Korea is unlikely. Neither pressure nor rewards will persuade North Korean decision-makers to surrender their nuclear weapons because they have good reasons to see denuclearisation as tantamount to collective suicide. Therefore, the only realistic goal of the United States and the international community is arms control. There are ways to reward North Korean leaders for their willingness to restrict their nuclear and missile programmes. These include partial removal of sanctions, economic assistance and subsidised investment. However, any deal will be costly, since North Korea will exact maximum compensation for its willingness to accept an arms-control regime. Reaching an agreement also will be time consuming. A grand bargain is unattainable, and the parties will have to take small, incremental steps.
Abstract It is often argued that the North Korean regime, if faced with the right combination of ... more Abstract It is often argued that the North Korean regime, if faced with the right combination of pressure and concessions, will surrender its nuclear program. This article is critical of this viewpoint. Pyongyang's decision to go nuclear reflects long-term strategic concerns, and no amount of aid and payments will compensate for the loss of strategic advantages created by the possession of a nuclear capability. At the same time, the outside world does not have sufficiently powerful leverage at its disposal as well. Hence, a prolonged stalemate should be expected.
The defection of Yi Sang-cho, the North Korean ambassador to Moscow, in 1956 was an event without... more The defection of Yi Sang-cho, the North Korean ambassador to Moscow, in 1956 was an event without precedent in the history of the communist bloc. This article deals with the background to the event, drawing on newly available archival documents and other sources. The study indicates that Ambassador Yi, deeply involved with intra-party opposition in North Korea, played a major role in the Mikoyan-Peng delegation's trip to Pyongyang and subsequent events. It also traces why the Soviet authorities decided to grant asylum to Yi Sang-cho, and how Moscow's attitude to his defection changed over time.
In recent years, North Korean workers overseas have begun to attract increasing attention of the ... more In recent years, North Korean workers overseas have begun to attract increasing attention of the international media, human rights activists, and academics. They are often depicted as being "modern-day slaves," but the present article challenges this approach. It relies on a number of sources, including interviews with former workers (currently residing outside North Korea) and their Russian employers. In many regards, overseas North Korean workers face problematic circumstances. Nonetheless, workers compete for the opportunity to go overseas, since the overseas work, in spite of all hardships, is much preferable to all jobs they can realistically have at home. Rather than seeing themselves as victims, more or less all our interviewees perceive themselves as active and entrepreneurial individuals who succeeded in securing work that, in spite of hard conditions, opens avenues for upward social mobility. They faced constraints and difficulties, of which they are all too aware, but also had agency to act within these constraints. We offer a critical examination of the "forced labor" claim and the applicability of the International Labour Organization's Forced Labour Convention to the issue.
For six decades, the idea of unification as Korea’s supreme political goal has been enshrined in ... more For six decades, the idea of unification as Korea’s supreme political goal has been enshrined in the official mythology of both North and South Korea. The lip service to this “unification mythology” is still paid by virtually all political forces in both the Koreas, but the actual policy of both Pyongyang and Seoul nowadays is clearly based on a very different set of assumptions: Both sides try to avoid situations which might lead to unification.
... Usually, these meetings are convened once a week and tend to be very short, 10 to 20 minutes ... more ... Usually, these meetings are convened once a week and tend to be very short, 10 to 20 minutes (H1, H5, H6, survey). Ch'oe Chin-i described the bitter resentment caused by her PG head's penchant for con-vening PG meetings daily and continuing them ad nauseam. ...
The current crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has resulted in an explosive incr... more 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.
North Korea today is a most unusual post-socialist state. Market actors and market prices are int... more North Korea today is a most unusual post-socialist state. Market actors and market prices are integral to economic life, but private property remains illegal, and private enterprise outside the household is de jure non-existent. In such an institutional context, some market processes are more autonomous in relation to the state, while others are more embedded within state structures. In this article, we offer a theoretical account of the shape that North Korea's market economy has taken, developed from a set of fishing industry case studies. We note four broad categories of enterprises: closely embedded, loosely embedded, semi-autonomous, and autonomous. By relative autonomy/embeddedness we mean control over fixed assets, cash flow, and operational decisions such as wage and price setting. We postulate three major determinants of embeddedness/ autonomy: (1) relative strategic resource scarcity between state and market actors, (2) monitoring costs, and (3) institutional evolution that reflects these realities, though to varying extents.
This article deals with the problems of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea. I... more This article deals with the problems of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea. In the past, most such defectors came from privileged groups in the North Korean population, and their adjustment to the new environment did not pose a significant problem. However, from the mid-1990s, defectors began to come from the far less privileged groups. They experience serious problems related to jobs, education, crime, and social adjustment. Recent years have seen a dramatic but not always openly stated change in the official South Korean attitude toward defectors: from a policy explicitly aimed at encouraging defection, Seoul has moved to the policy of quietly discouraging it. There are fears that encouraging defection will undermine the policy of peaceful engagement with the North. There is also the perception that refugees are outsiders, not quite adjustable to the conditions of South Korean society and thus a social and budgetary burden.
Abstract The denuclearisation of North Korea is unlikely. Neither pressure nor rewards will persu... more Abstract The denuclearisation of North Korea is unlikely. Neither pressure nor rewards will persuade North Korean decision-makers to surrender their nuclear weapons because they have good reasons to see denuclearisation as tantamount to collective suicide. Therefore, the only realistic goal of the United States and the international community is arms control. There are ways to reward North Korean leaders for their willingness to restrict their nuclear and missile programmes. These include partial removal of sanctions, economic assistance and subsidised investment. However, any deal will be costly, since North Korea will exact maximum compensation for its willingness to accept an arms-control regime. Reaching an agreement also will be time consuming. A grand bargain is unattainable, and the parties will have to take small, incremental steps.
Abstract It is often argued that the North Korean regime, if faced with the right combination of ... more Abstract It is often argued that the North Korean regime, if faced with the right combination of pressure and concessions, will surrender its nuclear program. This article is critical of this viewpoint. Pyongyang's decision to go nuclear reflects long-term strategic concerns, and no amount of aid and payments will compensate for the loss of strategic advantages created by the possession of a nuclear capability. At the same time, the outside world does not have sufficiently powerful leverage at its disposal as well. Hence, a prolonged stalemate should be expected.
The defection of Yi Sang-cho, the North Korean ambassador to Moscow, in 1956 was an event without... more The defection of Yi Sang-cho, the North Korean ambassador to Moscow, in 1956 was an event without precedent in the history of the communist bloc. This article deals with the background to the event, drawing on newly available archival documents and other sources. The study indicates that Ambassador Yi, deeply involved with intra-party opposition in North Korea, played a major role in the Mikoyan-Peng delegation's trip to Pyongyang and subsequent events. It also traces why the Soviet authorities decided to grant asylum to Yi Sang-cho, and how Moscow's attitude to his defection changed over time.
Uploads
Papers by Andrei Lankov