North Korea, the country of Kim Il-sung, can North Korea reform and open? ① [Walking with reporter Ahn Jeong-sik and Pyongyang]

Will North Korea open up for reform?

This is a question that is constantly raised as to whether the North Korean regime can change.

Experts also vary from opinions that if North Korea's external security conditions are improved, it is possible enough, to opinions that limitations are clear.

Before discussing this, it is worth revisiting whether this is a meaningful question.

In other words, the answer to the question'will North Korea open reform and open up' is 100%'yes', so it is a one-of-a-kind question.

No system does not change at all.

As time goes by, the system changes even a little in some way.

If the question of'will North Korea open reforms' is a question of whether the North Korean regime will change even a little, the answer to these questions is unconditionally yes.

What is important here is how North Korea will change but to what level it will change.

The meaning of'change' can be different depending on whether it is a level that allows only the tour of Mt. Geumgang or goes to a level that allows a fairly wide range of travel with the outside world.

There should be a reference point in judging changes in North Korea, and the above questions should be changed as follows.

'Will North Korea do 00-level reform and opening?'

As a reference point for North Korea's change, China and Vietnam are also attempting to change into a socialist system.

'Will North Korea pursue reform and openness at the level of China and Vietnam?' and'Will North Korea walk the path of reform and openness like China and Vietnam?' are the topics we will discuss.

Then, what kind of change will the reform and opening up at the level of China and Vietnam mean?

In terms of reform, China Vietnam maintains the envelope of socialism, but is in fact capitalist in other areas, except for the fact that it is a communist dictatorship.

The socialist principles of planned economy and collective ownership have become difficult to find, and even if Korean companies enter China or Vietnam, there is no significant obstacle to conducting business under the market economy principle.

What should be noted here is the structure within the Communist Party that made such reforms possible.

China, Vietnam and the Communist Party are dictatorships, but the dictatorship of these countries is not a system that is not tolerated by anything other than the highest leader like North Korea.

In the case of China, the collective leadership system after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping is a structure in which the division of power and checks are made between the factions within the party, and in this democracy within the party, the Chinese Communist Party was able to pave the way for reform.

In addition, these internal reform engines became the basis for communication with the outside, that is, openness to the outside world.

, let's look at the level of

China's openness

.

China still has many restrictions on political freedom, but it is open in terms of communication with the outside world.

Numerous foreigners visit China for tourism and business, and Chinese citizens do not have much trouble traveling outside.

Sensitive information such as Internet browsing is controlled within China, but as many Chinese people freely travel abroad without search blocking, it cannot be said that information from the outside world is blocked in China.

Although dictatorship is dictatorship, it is dictatorship that can communicate with the outside world.

Some say that North Korea will be able to open up reforms like China and Vietnam if conditions are available.

If the security threats that North Korea feels, such as hostile relations with the United States, disappear and a peaceful atmosphere is created on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea will sufficiently pursue communication with the outside world.

Will it be?

Let's take a closer look through the following articles.

(Photo = Getty Image Korea)