The Harris Administration and North Korea: At the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Vice President Kamala Harris made two bold statements that agitated North Korea, “I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jung Un,” and “They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors.” If Kamala Harris wins the 2024 election, she should not cozy up to Kim nor should she be manipulated by him like Trump. However, the Harris administration will need to implement a radical approach in dealing with North Korea to bring about a modicum of peace in that region that is hungry for a new consumer culture. The administration will have to find ways to improve the consumer-driven lives of the North Koreans rather than taking jabs at the Kim regime with the same dead-end policies. 

Harris’ predecessors from Clinton to Biden have been fixated on the wrong focal point when dealing with North Korea. Previous administrations and nearly all of the federal institutions in Washington D.C. including think tanks have attempted to lay out strategic plans to denuclearize the North Korean regime, naively thinking that denuclearization is the only way to promote peace. The conditions for any real talk with the regime were premised on dismantling its nuclear facilities. The U.S. and its allies have placed a chokehold on North Korea for decades, thinking that it will tap out sometime soon. However, North Korea has not tapped out, and it doesn’t plan on doing so.  

North Korea and Policy Change: What Is Occurring on the Ground? 

But D.C. officials know this story. Denuclearization is off the table for North Korea. So, why is this the only diplomatic tactic recycled and reiterated among “pundits” of North Korea? U.S. presidential leadership is so adamant about pursuing this dead-end policy and is blind to what is really happening in North Korea. 

So, then what is happening at the ground level that the U.S. and the rest of the world need to observe and take seriously? Ever since Kim Jong Un assumed the position as leader of the Hermit Kingdom in 2012, major shifts in the consumer culture and the visuality of the country have been occurring in film, television, state news, and social media. The most evident change is the use of digital cameras and high-tech editing software that have rejuvenated the stale methods of the past. The cinematic sequence of a missile test with Kim Jong Un in a black leather jacket and shades is just one example of the experimental works North Korea has been attempting to do to upgrade its media culture. The latest film, One Day, One Night (2023), is perhaps the most exhilarating thriller ever made in North Korean film history, as it resembles South Korean-style films. 

In their state news, there are frequent segments of drones capturing newly erected apartment buildings, department stores, communities, and consumer practices. The level of technology and drone flying skills is as good as South Korea’s, and the editing in the post-production is improving rapidly.  

The significance of such technological advancements and consumer culture is North Korea’s way of showing its people and the world through social media that they are no longer behind the times with dilapidated buildings and starving people. Those days were in the past. Moving forward, North Korea is hungry for more consumption of goods and technology and higher living standards. They need a solid infrastructure for scale these private businesses. Mobile technology, Wifi, and streaming services have entered the market, and entrepreneurs have been driving the market, but they still need the internet. They desperately want to get to the next level but are limited in resources. 

What Kamala Harris Should Do on DPRK

If the Harris administration truly desires a ground-breaking change, and not simply theatrics like Trump, in dealing with North Korea, it would have to start with controlled trading through organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and utilize Free Trade Agreements (FTA). Some kind of agreement that targets the expansion of their public and private markets, catered to the North Korean businesses. Accusing the state of violating human rights can be addressed later.

Exerting dominance over North Korea is no longer about slapping more sanctions, but rather controlling and regulating what goes in and out of that country. 

About the Author: 

Dr. Immanuel Kim is The Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies in the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department at The George Washington University.

Image Credit: Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock.