The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future

Much discussed and often maligned, precious little is known or understood about North Korea, the world s most controversial and isolated country. In The Impossible State Victor Cha pulls back the curtain, providing an unprecedented insight into North Korea s history, the rise of the Kim family dynasty, and the obsessive personality cult that surrounds them. He illuminates the repressive regime s complex economy and culture, its appalling record of human-rights abuses, its belligerent relationship with its neighbours and the United States, and analyzes the regime s major security issues from the seemingly endless war with its southern counterpart to its terrifying nuclear ambitions all in the light of the destabilizing effects of Kim Jong-il s recent death. How has this enigmatic nation-state continued to survive when it regularly violates its own citizens inalienable rights and has suffered severe famine, global economic sanctions, a collapsed economy, and near-total isolation from the rest of the world? Cha reveals a land facing a pivotal and disquieting transition of power from tyrannical father to inexperienced son, and delves into the ideology that leads an oppre

About the Author :
Victor Cha is the former Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council. He was the U.S. Deputy Head of Delegation for the Six Party Talks, concerned with security risks posed by the North Korean weapons programme. During his role as adviser to the White House he spent time in Pyongyang, and is in a unique position to comment on North Korean affairs. He is currently Professor of Government and Asian Studies and Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.

Review :
""The Impossible State" is provocative, frightening, and never more relevant than today as an untested new leader takes charge of the world's most unpredictable nuclear power."--Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent