Recent statistics of North Korea indicate that its economic situa-tion is improving. In its annual GDP estimates of North Korea, the Bank of Korea estimated that North Korea’s annual growth hovered around one percent on average during the past three years since 2011. Observers presume that this growth trend, although modest, has put North Korea on a growth track. In addition, the currency exchange rates in major cities of North Korea released by DailyNK show signs of stability after down-ward shifts, and rice prices have fallen as well. Such macro-economic indicators are making some North Korea experts to believe that the North Korean economy is finally getting out of the crisis. There are even reports that Kim Jong-un, North Ko-rea’s young leader is gaining popularity thanks to improving economic conditions.
 For an effective North Korea policy development, it is high time for the South Korean gov-ernment to rightly assess whether the North Korean economy is actually improving and what the key drivers are behind the growth. Identifying what drove such an improvement in mac-roeconomic indicators will help the government set the direction of North Korea policy.