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More articles by 'Peter Ward'
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
August 23, 2023
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
August 4, 2023
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
July 12, 2023
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’
June 28, 2023
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
June 23, 2023
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
June 13, 2023
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
May 19, 2023
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
April 12, 2023
How North Korea’s decrepit tax system encourages illicit market activity
Poor collection mechanisms cannot fund state largesse, incentivizing even the military to seek cash from elsewhere
April 7, 2023
Friendship and family networks are key to getting outside info to North Koreans
Autocratic regimes atomize communities and increase suspicion, but some spaces are safer for sharing illicit info
March 13, 2023
