ABSTRACT
The economy has always been the Achilles' heel of the North Korean regime. Even under Kim Il Sung, the regime suffered from a number of structural problems. But the regime survived and at times even prospered thanks to the hard work of the Korean people and generous economic and military aid from the Soviet Union and other countries. In the 1990s, these conditions have now changed, due to a variety of internal and external factors. In particular, North Korea has failed to adapt to changing conditions in the world economy, and its population has borne the brunt of this suffering.
