Prospects for Opening in North Korea and Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

North Korea’s policy of opening can be viewed as a product of the trade-off between economic efficiency and systemic stability. Historically, the policy has aimed at securing foreign exchange earnings by opening specified areas without allowing any significant challenges to the regime. To the disappointment of leaders in Pyongyang, much of these efforts have born little fruit. However, inter-Korean economic cooperation—one important element of the opening policy—has consistently expanded. With this, inter-Korean trade has increased, fostering greater mutual dependency. Yet from an economic standpoint, such cooperation appears less attractive for South Korea. And despite the few suggested benefits for engaging in inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, prospects for further opening in North Korea hold limited optimism, as the North is expected to continue to pursue a policy of “quarantined, belated opening without real reform.” This article aims to provide a review of North Korea’s past and present opening policies, emphasizing the situation where North Korea was unable to follow a line of gradual opening as seen in China or Vietnam. It is this special factor that has prevented North Korea from reaping greater gains from the opening process.