About the Webinar

Does economic discourse in North Korea lead or follow policy change? Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of all articles published in Kyŏngje Yŏngu between 1987 and 2020, Steven Denney and Peter Ward find that reform-oriented discourse consistently lags behind domestic marketization by roughly three quarters, while largely overlooking episodes of external opening and retrenchment. Rather than anticipating policy shifts, economic discourse primarily serves to legitimize and codify changes that have already occurred.

About the Speakers

Peter Ward is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute's Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy, and is also a senior analyst at NK Pro. 

Steven Denney is an assistant professor of International Relations and Korean Studies at Leiden University and an affiliated researcher with the Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities.

Event Information

Date: August 4 (Tuesday), 2026, 9:30-10:30 (CEST)
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