For a country as cautious as North Korea, a lot has changed since a series of economic reforms were announced 15 months ago. One source, an aid worker who recently spent more than a month travelling around the North, noticed many small developments. The electricity supply, for instance, has slightly improved in the capital city, Pyongyang, as well as on the east coast in Hamhung and Chongjin. Apartment-block lights are now on for much longer. Second-hand bicycles, from Japan and China, are numerous, particularly in cities on the poor, industrial east coast. Farmers are allowed their own small gardens, and farmers' markets are now referred to simply as "markets", because, as well as food, they sell consumer goods. Significantly, these markets have been given official approval. In fact, in June-despite its nuclear troubles with the outside world-the government appealed for help from other countries in running them. As Marcus Noland of the Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, explains, one immediate effect of the reforms is that there are now products available for hard currency, such as video players and movies like "The Lion King" dubbed in Korean, which were previously unobtainable. The government is also encouraging foreign investment in industries such as mining, energy, agriculture and information technology. And in an unprece- dented move, the leadership recently gave its approval for a South Korean company that assembles cars in North Korea to launch a marketing campaign there.
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