For a long time, I firmly believed that the best way to help create a better North Korea, one less dangerous for both outsiders and its own citizens, was to get information about the modern world to the DPRK public.
The thinking behind the policy is that exposure to the affluence and freedoms enjoyed in neighboring countries would spur North Koreans — especially junior members of the elite or educated youth — to start pressing for change.
For a long time, I firmly believed that the best way to help create a better North Korea, one less dangerous for both outsiders and its own citizens, was to get information about the modern world to the DPRK public.
The thinking behind the policy is that exposure to the affluence and freedoms enjoyed in neighboring countries would spur North Koreans — especially junior members of the elite or educated youth — to start pressing for change.
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Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world’s leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung University from 1984-5 – an experience you can read about here. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.
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