Foreign currency creates private markets
By Wei Yiyang Philip In the lobby of the Tower of the Juche Idea in Pyongyang, tourist Emily Liu buys a ticket to go to top of the 150-meter-high structure. It costs 300 North Korea won, however, since foreign tourists are not allowed to use North Korean currency, she pays the equivalent official value of 20 Chinese yuan. But Emily’s 20 yuan is actually worth far more than 300 won. Compared with the official rate of 15 won to one...
Foreign investment in North Korea on the rise
By Hui Yue Lam Adelaide North Korea is attempting to attract foreign direct investment to aid in economic development in the sanction-hit country. And it seems to be working, a little. FDI in North Korea reached US$ 79 million in 2012, a 40 percent increase from the year before and more than double 2010, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The total invested in the country over the past few decades comes to US$...
