ID :
117362
Sun, 04/18/2010 - 21:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/117362
The shortlink copeid
No disorder, but some instability in N. Korea money reform: expert+
PYONGYANG, April 18 Kyodo -
North Korea saw ''no social disorder'' in the country after conducting currency
reform last year, although it brought ''temporary and partial instability,'' a
senior North Korean economist said Sunday.
Dismissing news reports that the reform ended in failure and brought social
upheaval, Ri Gi Song, a professor at the Economic Institute of the Academy of
Social Sciences, said, ''There was not any of the social disorder'' as reported
by the foreign media.
But Ri acknowledged that Pyongyang saw ''temporary and partial instability''
following the Nov. 30 redenomination of the won, which knocked two zeros off
its bank notes.
''Stores and markets were closed for some days because it took time to adjust
prices,'' Ri said in an interview in Pyongyang. ''(The state) was not able to
swiftly implement follow-up measures such as price adjustments.''
Ri said that to ensure smooth economic management after the currency reform,
North Korea has launched measures such as lowering prices for some food items,
cutting ineffective expenditures, encouraging women to work in light industry
and the service sector, and improving the currency circulation system.
Effective in January, the state, for example, lowered the price of rice to 24
won per kilogram from 40 won. The price of eggs was reduced to 8 won per piece
from 12 won, according to Ri.
Prices of cooking oil and soap were also lowered, the professor said, adding
such discounts will last for some time.
Ri said the currency redenomination, the first since 1992, was primarily aimed
at raising the value of the currency and curbing inflation.
Before the reform, the won's value had fallen due to an excess amount in
circulation, he said.
Even after the latest currency reform, North Korea basically maintains fixed
exchange rates against major currencies, Ri said.
But Pyongyang could fluctuate the won against other currencies ''depending on
economic developments at home and external economic situations,'' he said.
On the state budget for 2010, Ri said that outlays for light industry and
agriculture -- two priority areas for North Korea's economic development this
year -- are up 10.1 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, from year-earlier
levels. But no amounts were given.
==Kyodo
North Korea saw ''no social disorder'' in the country after conducting currency
reform last year, although it brought ''temporary and partial instability,'' a
senior North Korean economist said Sunday.
Dismissing news reports that the reform ended in failure and brought social
upheaval, Ri Gi Song, a professor at the Economic Institute of the Academy of
Social Sciences, said, ''There was not any of the social disorder'' as reported
by the foreign media.
But Ri acknowledged that Pyongyang saw ''temporary and partial instability''
following the Nov. 30 redenomination of the won, which knocked two zeros off
its bank notes.
''Stores and markets were closed for some days because it took time to adjust
prices,'' Ri said in an interview in Pyongyang. ''(The state) was not able to
swiftly implement follow-up measures such as price adjustments.''
Ri said that to ensure smooth economic management after the currency reform,
North Korea has launched measures such as lowering prices for some food items,
cutting ineffective expenditures, encouraging women to work in light industry
and the service sector, and improving the currency circulation system.
Effective in January, the state, for example, lowered the price of rice to 24
won per kilogram from 40 won. The price of eggs was reduced to 8 won per piece
from 12 won, according to Ri.
Prices of cooking oil and soap were also lowered, the professor said, adding
such discounts will last for some time.
Ri said the currency redenomination, the first since 1992, was primarily aimed
at raising the value of the currency and curbing inflation.
Before the reform, the won's value had fallen due to an excess amount in
circulation, he said.
Even after the latest currency reform, North Korea basically maintains fixed
exchange rates against major currencies, Ri said.
But Pyongyang could fluctuate the won against other currencies ''depending on
economic developments at home and external economic situations,'' he said.
On the state budget for 2010, Ri said that outlays for light industry and
agriculture -- two priority areas for North Korea's economic development this
year -- are up 10.1 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, from year-earlier
levels. But no amounts were given.
==Kyodo
