Northern Economy
Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies has predicted that North Korea will launch a new economic policy on or around its Workers Party anniversary on October 10, 2015.
“Pyongyang is likely to try to address its problems associated with the livelihood of the people in an effort to solidify Kim Jong-un’s leadership, while mending its relations with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the United States,” it said, adding, “If the international community puts strong pressure on it surrounding the human rights issue, North Korea could tighten its relations with China and Russia and then the close trilateral relations witnessed during the Cold War era might be repeated.”
The institute also stressed that the year of 2015 would be an opportunity for South Korea’s Korean Peninsula Trust-building Process, because the Park Geun-hye administration passes the halfway point next year, and the North will be looking to attract foreign capital by opening its gates.