korean unification studies

In all seriousness though, the meeting between Roh Moo-Hyun and Nong Duc Manh, Secretary-General of the Vietnamese Communist Party, after the latter’s visit to North Korea is quite significant.

Vietnam could be held up as a model for North Korea. Although the fundamental economic conditions are very different between Vietnam and North Korea (in particular labor utilisation), the Vietnamese model of co-opting the leadership and elite into market reform has proven very successful.

In addition, Vietnam successfully achieved economic reform despite ‘US hostility’ – something which North Korea firmly believes it lives under. This is an important distinction between Vietnamese economic reform and Chinese economic reform – the latter was undertaken during a period good relations with the United States. Vietnamese economic reform began during a period when relations with the US remained thorny. US-Vietnam relations are today very good. Indeed, considering the viciousness of the war and the fact that many veterans who suffered in the war are today in positions of power (on both sides), US-Vietnam relations are a strong testament to the extent of Vietnam’s economic and political reform.

Could North Korea want to do the same? Vietnam’s (doi moi) reforms took about 20 years to come to where they are today. Imagine if North Korea took the same path. Within 20 years, probably less, given the amount of help it could secure from South Korea and Japan, North Korea could effectively be a market economy.

Photo reproduced from Kim Yon-Se, ‘South Korea, Vietnam expanding ties’, Korea Times, 14 November 2007.