One of the top scholars on North Korea, Marcus Noland, has co-authored a new book, “Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform,” with Stephan Haggard. I’ve not yet read the book, but plan to. An excerpt from a Financial Times Review:

The book is framed by the authors’ relatively hardline approach - they take seriously the argument that a country ruled by a regime that has acted with “systematic recklessness and callousness” should not be assisted at all.

However, Haggard and Nolan argue that there is little evidence that denying food will lead to regime change. This is, after all, a dynasty that has survived the collapse of the communist bloc, the death of its founder, a nuclear crisis and years of famine. They conclude that there is no substitute for a policy of seeking to aid the people while encouraging the regime’s political and economic evolution.

Amid this history of neglect, hunger and cruelty, there has been one element of hope. The famine led to the emergence of markets as people sought to buy the food the state no longer provided, and this precipitated the introduction of some half-hearted economic reforms.

This volume will no doubt be important in understating events as they unfold in North Korea. Also see this post at OneFreeKorea.