Investing in North Korea Is Not for the Faint of Heart
A father and son in front of Pyongyang’s April 25 House of Culture, the site of political and military gatherings.
Photographer: Carl De Keyzer/Magnum PhotosWould any corporate executive in his or her right mind be willing to put big money into a centrally planned economic underachiever? One that’s best known for food shortages, a backward manufacturing sector, and woefully inadequate infrastructure?
Maybe a businessman whose name adorns buildings in such places as Azerbaijan, Panama, and the Philippines. On June 12, Donald Trump wrapped up an historic summit with Kim Jong Un with a plug for North Korea’s waterfront. “They have great beaches,” America’s realtor-in-chief said at a news conference. “You see that whenever they’re exploding their cannons into the ocean. I said, ‘Boy, look at that view. Wouldn’t that make a great condo?’”