North Korea has been in political and economic straits since the collapse of the socialist bloc in the early 1990s. Several problems remain as obstacles to the recovery of the North Korean economy, including a continued deterioration in overall production, economic inefficiency, difficultly in foreign relations, and political and military frictions with the outside world. Therefore, North Korea's economic development should be made on the basis of the reform and opening of the economic system and the building of peace on the Korean peninsula through improved relations with neighboring countries. (The rest is omitted.)

Preface Contributors Part I. Introduction I. Overview II. Current Status of the North Korean Economy 1. Macroeconomic Status 2. North Korean Economic Trends by Sector Part II. Industrial Development and Problems III. Social Overhead Capital 1. Current Status of North Korea's SOC 2. Problems in North Korea's SOC IV. The Agricultural Sector 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Agricultural Structure 2. Grain Production in North Korea 3. The Agricultural Management System and Production Structure 4. The Market System for Agricultural Products and the Distribution System V. Industrial Structure and Production 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Industrial Structure 2. Production in Major Industrial Sectors 3. The Industrial Management System VI. The Defense Industry 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Defense Industry 2. North Korea's Defense Industry and Its Development Process 3. Problems in North Korea's Defense Industry VII. The Energy Sector and Energy Policy 1. North Korea's Energy Policy: Self-Reliance and Developing Alternative Energy Sources 2. Energy Supply and Demand 3. North Korea's Energy Policy Problems 4. North Korea's Energy Sector Reform and Future Tasks 5. Prospects for the Energy Sector VIII. The Information and Communications Technology Sector 1. The Communications Infrastructure 2. The ICT Industry 3. Problems in the ICT industry Part III. Economic Management System and Mechanism IX. National Economic Management System 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Economic System 2. Operation and Management of the North Korean Economic System 3. Problems with North Korea's Economic Management System X. Enterprise Management System 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Enterprise Management 2. Changes to North Korea's Enterprise Management System 3. Enterprise Decision-Making Processes and Their Characteristics XI. Social Security System and Social Services 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Social Security System 2. The Social Security Management System 3. Social Security Problems in North Korea XII. The National Innovation System for Science and Technology 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Science & Technology Policy 2. The National R&D System and the S&T Human Resources Training System 3. Prospects for Science and Technology Development Part IV. Fiscal, Finance and Commercial Management XIII. Public Finance and Fiscal Policy 1. The Role of Public Finance in North Korea 2. Financial Revenue and Expenditure 3. Central Budget and Local Budgets 4. New Challenges for Fiscal Policy 5. Fiscal Policy Problems and Prospects XIV. The Monetary and Price Management System 1. Characteristics of North Korea's Financial System 2. North Korea's Financial System Problems and Future Tasks 3. The Price Management System 4. Conclusion XV. The Commerce and Distribution Systems 1. The Nature and Concept of Commerce in North Korea 2. Development Trajectory of Commercial and Distribution Systems 3. Commercial and Distribution Organizations 4. Types of Commerce in North Korea 5. The Price Structure of Commercial Distribution 6. The Size of Commerce and Distribution in North Korea Part V. International Economic Relations XVI. Foreign Economic Relations 1. Changes in Foreign Economic Policy 2. The Current Status of North Korea's Foreign Economic Activities 3. Recent Economic Relations with Major Countries XVII. Special Economic Zones 1. Lessons from the Rajin-Sonbong Economic and Trade Zone 2. North Korea's Special Economic Zone Policy 3. Prospects for the Development of SEZs XVIII. Inter-Korean Economic Relations 1. Inter-Korean Trade 2. South Korea's Investment in the North 3. Non-Commercial Economic Relations between North and South Korea Part VI. Strategies for North Korea's Economic Reconstruction and Future Tasks XIX. North Korea's Tasks for Economic Reconstruction 1. Tasks for the North Korean Economy 2. Guidelines for Economic Improvement 3. Economic Concept Change 4. The Direction of Economic Reform 5. Prospects for Changes in the North Korean Economy XX. The Roles of the International Community in North Korea's Economic Reconstruction 1. The United States 2. Japan 3. Russia 4. European Union (EU) 5. International Organizations