North Korea is embracing markets to an unprecedented degree, but there are still some key limitations. Andray Abrahamian More Quotes by Andray Abrahamian More Quotes From Andray Abrahamian In the North Korean context, this is huge - so much further than under previous leaders. Andray Abrahamian top-news Moon did an impressive job building up political capital with both leaders - with Trump throughout 2017 and Kim more in 2018 - and has spent some of it to create a situation that brings North Korea and the U.S. to the table, he's still in a position to act as a go-between, but only as far as the other two parties take bridgeable positions. Andray Abrahamian top-news In 2012, Kim promised that there would be no more belt tightening, so for him to call on the country to prepare for exactly that sends a very clear message, most North Koreans have seen their economic prospects improve under Kim Jong Un so I'm sure this is a worrying time for them. Andray Abrahamian The message will be that because of the U.S. hostile policy and sanctions, that things will be more difficult for the foreseeable future. Andray Abrahamian This could give Pyongyang pause if they're pondering a hardline approach for next year that said, they traditionally have pushed back hard against supposed Chinese leverage, aware that China is willing to punish North Korea, but not to the point that it causes real instability. Andray Abrahamian
