Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-238) and index.

For many in the West, North Korea is a secretive, reclusive, and enigmatic country, a rogue state that threatens the world with its nuclear program and ballistic missiles. But despite being confronted with its numerous provocations, including nuclear tests and missile launches, the international community still has not formulated a coherent response.

How do we understand the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, which has persisted well beyond the end of the Cold War? Christoph Bluth presents an in-depth analytical account of North Korea's development from a Soviet satellite to a failed state in the post-Cold War period. He also explains South Korea's transition from a military dictatorship to a modern democracy with a thriving economy. Based on interviews with key policymakers and experts located in the Republic of Korea, Bluth's study sheds light on Korean hopes for unification and the future of the U.S.-ROK alliance.

U.S. policy toward North Korea has been politically controversial, with some supporting engagement and negotiations, and others calling for isolating the regime on the basis that it cannot be trusted. Neither approach will work, according to Bluth, who explains that North Korea's foreign and security policy is the result of both internal and external threats to the survival of a regime that can no longer sustain itself.

A suitable text for undergraduates as well as postgraduates, this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Korea, international security, and in particular nuclear nonproliferation. --Book Jacket.

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