Can international economic pressure induce policy changes? The conventional wisdom, among economists at least, is that economic sanctions, for all their posturing, won’t achieve very much. For better or worse, this column shows that this is now changing.

Little is known about North Korea’s economy as official statistics are scant. But North Korea cannot be ignored, especially when it comes to the size of its army. This column suggests that the true number is hidden between the lines of the census. It provides an estimate based on missing population, that is, the difference between the whole population and the number of registered citizens.

The Obama administration is simultaneously imposing economic sanctions on Iran and North Korea and suggesting that it would like to take a more conciliatory approach. This column says that economic sanctions rarely work in altering the behaviour of a target country, especially as a stand-alone tool of foreign policy. That suggests that the new US president is right to use both carrots and sticks.

North Korea may be on the brink of famine. This column explains the crisis.