Evaluating the Second Half of the Kim Jong-Un Era: Evidence from Nighttime Light

Abstract

Satellite data can sometimes provide valuable information on countries that lack the statistical ability or willingness to disclose information to the outer world. North Korea is one such country, and the satellite-produced nighttime light data allows us to infer growth engines of the North Korean economy and the impact of recent external shocks. The North Korean economy in Kim Jong-Un’s era can be categorized into two stages. The first half includes 2012-2016, when together with the conducive external environment and the new leader’s ambitious aim for economic development, positive growth was achieved in several areas. The second half includes 2017-2021, when adverse external shocks – the UN sanctions and the COVID-19 – struck the North Korean economy hard.