North Korean Review Vol 11 No 1 Spring 2015

North Korean Review is the first academic journal in North America or Europe to focus exclusively on North Korea. The purpose of NKR is to provide readers with an improved understanding of the country’s complexities and the threat it presents to global stability. International and interdisciplinary, NKR is a refereed journal published twice a year. Topics include culture, history, economics, business, religion, politics and international relations, among others.

North Korean Review is the first academic journal in North America or Europe to focus exclusively on North Korea. The purpose of NKR is to provide readers with an improved understanding of the country’s complexities and the threat it presents to global stability. International and interdisciplinary, NKR is a refereed journal published twice a year. Topics include culture, history, economics, business, religion, politics and international relations, among others.

This book focuses on three main subjects: the DPRK's inability to survive as a nuclear state; the importance of China’s role in encouraging denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and the possibility of an alternative political organization for the DPRK including a transition to a market-economy in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. The book approaches North Korean issues from the perspective that the regime cannot survive without nuclear weapons which, rather than being a genuine danger to other states, are bargaining chips for security and survival. The book includes views from prominent academics and practitioners, including a former British ambassador to North Korea, putting forward an ambitious set of recommendations and analyses based on hands-on experience in the region.

South Korea has the most remarkable of histories. Born from the ashes of colonialism, partition and a devastating war, back in the 1950s there were real doubts about its survival as an independent state. Yet South Korea did survive, and first became known globally for the export of cheap toys, shoes and clothing. Today, South Korea is a boisterous democracy, a vibrant market economy, a tech powerhouse, and home to the coolest of cultures. In just seventy years, this society has grown from a shrimp into a whale. What explains this extraordinary transformation? For some, it was ordinary South Koreans who fought to change their country, and still strive to continue shaping it. For others, it was all down to forward-looking political and business leaders, who had the vision that their country would one day be different. Whichever version you prefer, it's clear that, at its core, South Korea's is the story of a people who dreamt big, and saw their dreams coming true. This is the history of South Korea, from its millennia-old roots, through its foundation as a nation-state and economic development under dictatorship, to its present as a rich, free and cool country on the world stage.

This book addresses growing tensions in Northeast Asia, notably between North Korea and China. Focusing on China’s economic participation in North Korea’s minerals and fishery industries, the author explores the role of China’s sub-state and non-state actors in implementing China’s foreign economic policy towards North Korea. The book discusses these actors’ impact on the regional order in Northeast Asia, particularly in the Korean Peninsula. The project also provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of China’s cultural and economic activities in North Korea as implemented by both the historically traditional actors in Jilin and Liaoning provinces in Northeast China, and new actors from coastal areas (Shandong and Zhejiang provinces) and inland provinces (Chongqing and Henan) to Zhejiang province. It argues that in the era of economic decentralisation, Chinese sub-state and non-state actors can independently deal with most of their economic affairs without the need for permission from the central government in Beijing. A key read for scholars and students interested in Asian history, politics and economics, and specifically the East Asian situation, this text offers an in-depth analysis of recent activity concerning the Sino-DPRK economic relationship.

This book examines the major security and related issues between the United States, Japan and North Korea (officially, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - DPRK). Although focusing mainly on current issues, this book also provides sufficient historical background to enable readers to appreciate the many nuances that have been ignored by policymakers, analysts and the media. Where appropriate, the book examines the security interests of other nations in Northeast Asia, specifically South Korea, China and Russia. The central purpose of the book is to objectively analyze the policymaking processes of Washington, Tokyo and Pyongyang with respect to the DPRK's nuclear weapons and other important security issues, and ultimately to provide practical ways to improve the security environment in Northeast Asia. Ongoing security-related issues include nuclear missile testing by the DPRK; its removal from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, and the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike other books, which typically take the position that North Korea is a rogue state run by an irrational, belligerent and autocratic leader, this book reveals the fundamentals of Pyongyang’s security concerns in the region. This book will be of great interest to students of North East Asian politics, Asian security studies, US foreign policy and Security Studies/IR in general.

... dedicated to the advancement and understanding of those principles and practices, military and political, which serve the vital security interests of the United States.