ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses how aid has been provided to North Korea by examining whether aid provision had any impact on society and on state capacity development and whether aid monitoring influenced the culture of accountability and communication between the government and citizens. The research findings suggest that, in the case of North Korea, there has been an almost complete lack of opportunities for aid workers to engage at the people-to-people level with those at the very bottom level of society. In relation, the chapter suggests that countries with weak capacity, like North Korea, require differentiated approaches throughout the aid project cycle. The North Korean regime does not function for its people. In the discourse of aid management, the regime even blocks opportunities for capacity development of the state, market, and society. Therefore, this chapter argues that we need to provide international aid to North Korea to uncover and realise the potential of its cloaked society with capacity building and development.
