SEOUL — A prominent right-leaning economist has proposed that North Korea retain its authoritarian regime and that its economic reform be supported in order to minimize the costs of unification.

In his presentation “Towards the Miracle on the Taedong River,” a play on South Korea’s Miracle of the Han River, Yeungnam University professor Jwa Sung-hee proposed a “win-win solution for North Korean people, South Korea and the North Korea’s ruling elite” in a conference hosted by the National Unification Advisory Council on Thursday.

It is a very rare for a conservative – a segment of population marked by anti-communism and