15 May 2019

Satellite data sheds new light on North Korea

Nocturnal luminosity implies that North Korea's economy is poorer, more volatile and more vulnerable to weather that formerly thought according to an article in The Economist.

ID 56200260 © Rakchai58 | Dreamstime.com

ID 56200260 © Rakchai58 | Dreamstime.com

In a recent article published by the Economist, ESM-EOCS Researcher Scholar's Olha Danylo and Juan Carlos Laso Bayas contributed to the analysis of nighttime light data.

"Viewed from space at night, North Korea looks like the recently released first image of a black hole: an abyss, ringed by the brilliant glow of South Korea, China and Russia, from which nothing can escape. But the Hermit Kingdom does emit a bit of light, which orbiting satellites detect. And nocturnal luminosity is one of the few reliable sources of information about the country. It implies that North Korea’s economy is poorer, more volatile and more vulnerable to weather than formerly thought".  The Economist


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Last edited: 27 August 2019

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Juan Carlos Laso Bayas

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