September 27, 2023

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Ward

Peter Ward

Peter Ward is a senior researcher at Kookmin University, a writer and researcher focusing on the North Korean economy, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna.

Analysis

North Korea demands end to regional inequality, but offers mostly futile fixes

While new law shows state concerned about rural poverty, solutions rely on redistribution of resources that don’t exist

Peter WardPeter WardSeptember 12, 2023
Analysis

How North Korea seeks to fix its stark problem of child malnutrition

Infant Care Act mandates food production for kids and building daycares, but in process creates new burdens for people

Peter WardPeter WardAugust 28, 2023
Analysis

A brewing storm: How North Korea has failed to prepare for extreme weather

Climate change is amplifying floods and droughts, but regime is unwilling or unable to invest in robust infrastructure

Peter WardPeter WardAugust 23, 2023
Analysis

A history of violence: North Korea seeks to curb assault with toothless new law

Creation of anti-battery law points to widespread violence, but light penalties betray authorities’ lenient attitude

Peter WardPeter WardAugust 4, 2023
Analysis

Why North Korea has reined in firms’ freedom to set their own prices

DPRK laws shine light on efforts to reassert control in key economic sectors, a move that could stifle innovation

Peter WardPeter WardJuly 12, 2023
Analysis

A war on words: Kim Jong Un’s Orwellian crackdown on talking like South Koreans

A new North Korean law polices intonation, jargon and more in futile effort to curtail ‘the puppet way of speaking’

Peter WardPeter WardJune 28, 2023
Analysis

The other Korean demographic crisis: Unmasking North Korea’s population data

DPRK has likely fudged numbers since 90s famine, a finding that impacts assessments of military and economic strength

Peter WardPeter WardJune 23, 2023
Analysis

One step forward, two back: North Korea’s confounding new financial reforms

Reports suggest regional banks have more power than ever, even as state reigns in market mechanisms on national level

Peter WardPeter WardJune 13, 2023
Analysis

Poker face: North Korea tries new strategy in crackdown on ‘bluffing’ and lying

Penalties for poor performance and inability to fact check has made false reporting endemic, analysis of new law shows

Peter WardPeter WardMay 19, 2023
Analysis

Don’t have a cow, man? Now North Korean farmers can get one at oxen marketplace

Recent DPRK law creates legal market for the draft animal in the most significant agricultural reform in years

Peter WardPeter WardApril 12, 2023
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