North Korea: Economy Faltering! (Or Is It?)

A real mess of a propaganda article basically reporting the views of “defectors,” “former CIA analysts,” “South Korean sources", and “economists (?)” where a "faltering" economy is due not to being state-run but to outside sanctions placed on it and which also reveals more consumer goods available, sports cars, no diminishment in Kim's ability to rule and finally concludes, after many nasty comments and insinuations, “For now, there is no sign that the economy is reaching a breaking point, according to defectors in touch with their relatives in the North. The prices of rice, corn and fuel remain stable, and the won is holding steady against the American dollar and Chinese renminbi.” A strange type of “faltering” where there is no sign of a breaking point, prices remain stable, and the currency is holding up against those of the US and China. What would successfully holding out against US attempts to sabotage the economy look like?

NYTIMES.COM

North Korea’s State-Run Economy Falters Under Sanctions, Testing Elite Loyalty

International sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program have been felt most acutely by the party and military officials who support Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian rule.