Note: This interview was conducted prior to news of the purge of Jang Song Thaek

Long-time watchers of the Korean Peninsula have long waited for a commitment to economic development.

John Delury, China-historian and assistant professor of Yonsei’s Graduate School of International Studies, believes signs of that are under way.

“I’m seeing, on a number of different levels, a seriousness of purpose to their economic development,” he told NK News.

In recent years, Delury has organized several Track II-exchanges with North Korea, and he also directed the 2009 Task Force report “North Korea Inside Out: The Case for Economic Engagement,”