What Can North Korea Offer to International Markets in A Possible Sanction-free Economy?

The news of Mike Pompeo, head of the CIA, secretly visiting North Korea ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is catching headlines.

No sitting American president has ever met a leader of North Korea face-to-face, since Washington and Pyongyang do not align at all politically. However, what sort of impact will the world see in international markets if North Korea, the U.S. and South Korea strike some sort of nuclear arms agreement, which many would expect would include lifting current economic sanctions against North Korea? Has North Korea anything it could offer to the world if sanctions were lifted?

The 15-member U.N. Security Council has passed nine rounds of sanctions against North Korea since its first nuclear test. This also includes additional sanctions by other countries such as EU members, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. To note, the U.N. sanctions allow humanitarian assistance, but there is much controversy in terms of whether it is helping the impoverished in North Korea.

Unlike the developed and technologically advanced South Korea, North Korea has an economy that is both isolated and stagnant. Comparing gross domestic product (GDP) between the two Koreas, for instance, South Korea's GDP per capita is $29,114, while North Korea's is $1,800. According to the CIA World Factbook, China accounted for an estimated 67.2 percent of North Korea's exports and 61.6 percent of imports in 2011 (second was South Korea _ 19.4 percent of exports and 20 percent of imports).

Even though North Korea is generally underdeveloped, there potentially will be some benefits for them if sanctions, assuming it will be on the road to denuclearization, are lifted in May or June after the Trump-Kim meeting.

First, the country has a population of over 25 million according to the World Bank. This would give any global businesses potential access to a new market of consumers, assuming sanctions are lifted and there is easier market access. Although North Korea's government heavily regulates its society, there have been import successes, such as with cell-phones.

The country is estimated to have 4 million mobile phone subscribers. Although with cell-phones, like with other goods in North Korea, much is locally made but also some get imported, particularly from China. As China is North Korea's largest trading partner, North Korea has many goods across many industries coming in from the country.

Second, one of North...

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