Michael O’Hanlon examines what North Korea could be in the future

The key is to focus on basic change in North Korea. What might a reformed North Korea look like? Vietnam today. That former US enemy has restructured its economy and begun to open its society and politics while retaining communism as official dogma. The process started in the 1980s and accelerated thereafter, culminating in normalization of ties in the Clinton era. Vietnam’s annual economic growth averaged just 2.6 percent in the 70s, but 3.6 percent in the 80s and more than 7 percent since then. Today, North Korea is about where Vietnam was in the late 1970s. That is not a great place to be, but the analogy leaves room for hope.

To be sure, it would be wonderful if North Korean leaders would simply reject communism. But that’s about as likely as leader Kim Jong Il giving up his luxury cars and cognac. The good news is that they (and he) need not. Vietnam has proved that a more gradual path to reform can work for all concerned, including the US and its regional allies.

Not exactly the best model but the best we can hope for.

DailyNK examines the prospect of a very uncomfortable return for North Korean athletes caught doping during the Olympics

North Korea is likely to severely punish one of its athletes after he tested positive for prohibited drugs at the Beijing Olympics and was stripped of the medals that he had earned.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced publicly on the 15th that North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su has been stripped of his silver and bronze medals, which he won in the 2008 Beijing Olympics men’s 10m pistol and 50m air pistol respectively, after he tested positive for the banned beta-blocker propranolol.

A Daily NK’s reporter met with an affiliate from the North Korean economic department after the International Olympic committee’s announcement in Shenyang, China. He emphasized that “Kim humiliated the country in the Olympics. It is a serious problem that we cannot overlook in the current atmosphere. Even the authorities are outraged by this sudden drug problem.”

The reporter asked the question if Kim Jong Il has mentioned this issue, to which the affiliate replied “I am not sure about that, but North Korea is a target for a lot of criticism from the outside world related to counterfeiting and drugs. From this scandal, we have earned more negativity.”

In South Korea (Via. OFK)