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Thanks to our friend Curtis Melvin at the always-useful North Korea Economy Watch, we learned that Marcus Noland has finally hit the big time. Although it did not hit the operatic intensity of say, "human scum," last Friday KCNA picked up on his talk on our new monograph on engagement and sanctions. The story is worth quoting in full:
US Fails in Sanctions against DPRK: Economic Expert
Pyongyang, July 22 (KCNA) -- The vice-director of the U.S. Peterson International Economic Institute said the U.S. has failed in sanctions against the DPRK, said a media report.
Speaking at a centre in Washington on Wednesday, the economic expert said the U.S. has pursued different policies, including sanctions, to pressure the DPRK, but produced no result.
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As usual with the North Koreans, almost everything about this story is self-serving and misleading. We argue that sanctions did not work against the North Koreans in part because of their willingness to impose incredible costs on their own population. We did not see much KCNA coverage of our first book, Famine in North Korea, nor of our reporting on the horrific abuses in the North Korean penal system in Witness to Transformation.
Second, while sanctions did not appear to have positive effects on disarming North Korea, we also argue that inducements haven’t fared so well either. The North Koreans favor inducements such as cash transfers or other forms of unconditional aid. Such inducements have generally failed to induce much more than talks, and have not had the effect of moderating Pyongyang’s behavior or signaling their willingness to join the international system by reforming their ridiculously distorted and failing economy.
Finally, we also argue that while sanctions may not “work” for the purpose of denuclearization, they may nonetheless be a perfectly legitimate defensive instrument if the North Koreans remain intent on proliferation. There is little evidence they have slowed down on that front, as recent interdictions continue to remind us.
But enough; we are sounding like Sarah Palin and her critique of the “lame-stream” media. Imagine what Palin would say if the New York Times was the only paper of record? If that were the case, though, we could do what the North Koreans do: lock her up.
