SEOUL – Marketization in North Korea is paving the way for Christian missionary work, experts and missionaries agreed in a seminar on Thursday.

The seminar “What’s happening now in the Jangmadang?” at Chungdong First Methodist Church reviewed the current economic situation in North Korea, with an emphasis on people’s activities around the autogenous markets commonly called jangmadang.

One panelist saw the growing markets in North Korea as not only the mainstay of North Korea’s planned economy but also the instrument of social change.

“After succeeding in making ends meet, some North Koreans are now taking an interest in fashion,”