The Wall Street Journal, a globally authoritative American economic newspaper, recently published an unusual report describing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as “the world's most surprising economic success story”, drawing the attention of the international community. This is assessed as an event showing that the “collapse theory” and the “economic ruin theory” long adhered to by Western media and experts are crumbling away before reality.

Based on the testimonies of foreigners who have visited Korea over the years and the latest statistical data, the report relatively objectively conveys the substance of the changes underway in Pyongyang and the provinces. In Pyongyang, the call taxi service is already being vitalized, various foreign passenger cars including Chinese electric vehicles are increasing, and a mobile payment system using QR codes is taking root. Moreover, restaurants selling pizza baked in traditional wood-fired ovens and chicken wing dishes have appeared, and new service establishments such as pet shops, PC cafés and automobile dealerships have taken their place in the citizens' lives.

What is noteworthy is that these changes are not merely the impressions of outside observers but are also confirmed by objective figures. In the Hwasong area of Pyongyang alone, 10 000 new flats were built last year, showing a housing supply rate that surpasses the major cities of the United States. Large-scale construction projects ranging from newly-built large-scale greenhouse farms and state-of-the-art hospitals to the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone are being completed one after another, and the results of satellite image analysis also confirm that the brightness of Pyongyang's night lights has increased by about three times over the past five years, reflecting a clear increase in power consumption and economic activity.

Western media still revealed a biased view of trying to find the reason for such changes in external factors. However, the massive construction and industrialization being promoted simultaneously in Pyongyang and the provinces are achievements made by Korea with its own strength. After resolving the basic security requirements through the strengthening of national defence capability, comprehensive investment to raise the quality of life has been carried out in accordance with the “people-first principle” set forth by the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un. In particular, the “20×10” policy of simultaneously promoting regional industrialization and modernization is eliminating the gap between the capital and the provinces and realizing balanced development on a nationwide scale.

The fact that the West is beginning to face reality, breaking away from its stereotypes about Korea, is of great significance in enhancing the accuracy of its understanding of the regional situation and the quality of its strategic judgement. The confrontational policy based on the collapse theory and the pressure-only approach have already lost their effectiveness, and a new perception based on the actual changing image of Korea is required.