North Korea ranks No. 17 of 26 for relative power in Asia-Pacific

(FILES) In a file photo taken on September 9, 2019 a child drives a miniature electric toy car across Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang. – North Korea’s sanctions-hit economy defied the impact of international restrictions to grow for the first time in three years in 2019, the South’s central bank said July 31, 2020. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)/2020-07-31 15:18:18/

SEOUL — North Korea was ranked 17th out of 26 countries in terms of national power in the Asia-Pacific region, dropping by one place largely due to its waning diplomatic influence, the Australian think tank Lowy Institute said in this year’s power index released Monday.

The nuclear meetings between US President Donald Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong-un did not translate into meaningful concessions for the isolated North, according to the index, which assesses a country’s relative power based on its comprehensive performance in areas like diplomatic and cultural influence as well as economic relationships, military and economic capability.

Pyongyang scored low in cultural influence and economic relationships. The regime performed best in military capability, placing sixth, though the communist country seems to wield less influence than expected, given the nuclear arsenal available, according to the index.

The index assessed that the US came on top, followed by China and Japan, with South Korea earning the seventh spot. South Korea ranked sixth last year, but its diplomatic and cultural influence diminished over the year.

The index added that China has narrowed the gap with the US, which has seen a reduction in performance evaluations because of its mishandling of the coronavirus.

But the dollar is still the unrivaled currency, empowering the US to maintain an edge over the other Asia-Pacific countries, the index said.