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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exist as a crucial platform to monitor and advocate the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, highlighting the goal of inclusiveness in economic and social growth under the slogan of “no one should be left behind.” In light of North Korea’s promise to report its Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the SDGs, Professor Taekyoon Kim from Seoul National University raises the question of North Korea’s possible motives behind its compliance with the United Nations’ global assignment. Professor Kim addresses the irony behind North Korea’s proactive engagement with the SDGs and their presentation of high quality content and institutional support which will be carried out by the Workers’ Party of Korea, given the reality of the WPK’s general non-compliance with global norms and rules. He argues that the nation engages itself in carrying out global norms such as the SDGs due to the lack of binding enforcement, and that North Korea’s willingness to do so is merely an opportunistic attempt to present itself as a good global citizen and receive more aid and economic support from the international community. Furthermore, Professor Kim adds that the engagement with the SDGs is useful for the North’s own agenda towards its domestic development. [Read Commentary]
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