Most authors welcome the 2000 North-South summit and hope that further engagement and reform is forthcoming. Jeong-Ho Roh argues that recent changes in the legal system in North Korea, which permit foreign investment in designated special economic zones, are encouraging, but that the regime lacks an independent court system to mediate potential disputes. Yinhay Ahn writes that only further economic reform can establish conditions that will improve the quality of life for all northerners, including women, who suffered the most in the 1990s famine. She cites disturbing evidence that a number of North Korean women have been sold as slaves in northern China.Together, the articles provide perspective on the tragedy that has enveloped the DPRK in recent years. The situation in North Korea may be gradually improving, but there is little evidence that social and economic conditions will improve either quickly or dramatically.
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