Understanding North Korea

Author : Sonia Ryang
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 173 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2009-01-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780739132074

Get Book

North Korea by Sonia Ryang Pdf

We are told, time and again, that North Koreans are loyal to their leader, that they would do anything, even die for him, and that they are fiercely proud and nationalistic. But to an equal extent, we are told that they are oppressed, suffering, and ready to rise against the evil dictator. What do we know beyond or between these opposing assumptions? We are not well equipped with the conceptual tools that could lead us beyond the current securitization of our discourses on North Korea, while undercurrents of regarding North Koreans as less human continue in these discourses. This volume attempts to multiply the angles from which we can look at North Korea by reassessing the international environment in which it is placed, the process of production of its culture, and the historical paths it has followed. Due to the new approach the volume takes, reading these pages will be an eye-opening experience not only for experts, but also for lay readers and anyone interested in peace keeping in Korea, Northeast Asia, and beyond.

Author : Jongwoo Han,Jung Tae-hern
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 429 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2013-12-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780739179215

Get Book

Understanding North Korea by Jongwoo Han,Jung Tae-hern Pdf

Why does North Korea want to possess nuclear capabilities? In order to find the answer to this question, we must have an accurate understanding of the history and structure of the North Korean regime. So far, we have only formed conjectures and predictions regarding North Korea based on our own perspectives; we now need to deal with and consider North Korea “as is” to reach viable solutions to the issues North Korea presents. This volume contains analyses of the most salient, critical issues pertinent to understanding the North Korean regime, penned by representative Korean scholars of North Korea. As such, the book examines the historical formation of North Korea, the identities of those power elite, and the relative stability (or instability, as the case may be) of the new regime under Kim Jong-un. Also an important aspect to consider is the possibility of socio-economic change in North Korea. Though North Korea has remained relatively static vis-à-vis its political and military systems, it is in the process of becoming rapidly marketized, having continued various attempts to modify its economic policy. In the social realm, said economic shift has elicited the polarization of the disparate classes and the expansion of individualism. Such social transformations, obscured by the easily visible political reality of North Korea, can provide solid grounds for determining the future of the North Korea regime. Moreover, it is imperative that we accurately understand the motivation behind North Korea’s intention to develop nuclear weapons—namely, the expansion of deterrence. We must recognize the reasons for the North Korean hostility toward the United States from the very beginning of the DPRK formation and the North Korean fixation on nuclear weapons development. Further, we need to understand the nature of relations between China and North Korea—relations on which the international community has focused since North Korea began its nuclear testing—as well as the history and structure of relations between North and South Korea. Only when we accurately understand North Korea can we reach solutions to the North Korean nuclear issue. The studies in this volume by Korean scholars will reveal the veiled background of the visible phenomena and thereby help the readers to correctly understand the North Korean behaviors hitherto misunderstood (or even those that were impossible to understand).

Author : Institute for Unification Education, Ministry of Unification (South Korea)
Publisher : 길잡이미디어
Page : 422 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2015-01-30
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

Get Book

Understanding North Korea by Institute for Unification Education, Ministry of Unification (South Korea) Pdf

The Institute for Unification Education, which constitutes the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea, has published annual editions of Understanding North Korea since 1972, as an endeavor to promote greater understanding of North Korea for South Korean readers. Understanding North Korea depicts the reality faced by the Northern regime in areas of politics, diplomacy, military, economy, society, culture, and many more. The May 2012 publication has been translated into English, with the aim to help the international community better understand the northern half of the Korean peninsula. English translations of the referred editions will be published on an biennial basis. We hope that this book enables readers around the world to better grasp the reality of North Korea. The regime in North Korea exhibits three characteristics: it is a totalitarian dictatorship governed by the sole leadership of the suryǒng , who stands above the Workers’Party of Korea (WPK) and the state; the regime, as one of the world’s most highly centralized and planned economies, has advocated self-reliance and the monopoly of all means of production by the state and cooperative organizations; and the state uses the concept of Grand Socialist Family which requires absolute obedience of people to the suryǒng , who is considered the father of a family. These traits engendered a peculiar form of social structure unprecedented in any other socialist country. As it had to do under Kim Jong-il, North Korea under Kim Jong-un must engage in some degree of reform and opening to improve its economy and ensure the regime’s survival. Such a path, however, also brings with it the risk of regime collapse. The regime thus faces the difficult task of maintaining stability while at the same time reforming and opening up. CONTENTS I. How should we view North Korea? Section 1. Nature of the Northern Regime 11 Section 2. North Korea’s Dilemma 18 Ⅱ. Political System and Governing Principles Section 1. History of the North Korean Regime and Establishment of its Political System 25 1. Soviet Occupation and Establishment of the North Korean Regime 25 2. Establishment of North Korea’s Political System and its Characteristics 28 Section 2. Formation of Governing Ideology and its Changing Nature 36 1. Juche Ideology 37 2. Songun Ideology 42 3. Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism 46 Section 3. Power Structure and Form of Government 49 1. Power structure 49 2. Workers’Party of Korea 55 3. Central Institutions 71 Section 4. Hereditary Succession of Power and the Kim Jong-un Regime 80 1. History of Hereditary Power Succession 80 2. Establishment and Stabilization of the Kim Jong-un Regime 86 Ⅲ. External Policies and Relations Section 1. Goals and Directions of Foreign Policies 97 1. Basic Ideas and Goals of Foreign Policy 97 2. Policy Directions 99 3. North Korea’s Foreign Policy-making Structure 102 Section 2. Changes in Foreign Policy 105 1. Foreign Policy during the Cold War Era 105 2. Foreign Policy after the Cold War Era 111 Section 3. Foreign Relations 117 1. US-North Korea Relations 117 2. China-North Korea Relations 127 3. Japan-North Korea Relations 132 4. Russia-North Korea Relations 137 5. Relations with the EU and Other Nations 141 Ⅳ. Military Strategy and Capacity Section 1. Characteristics and Functions 153 1. Establishment of the KPA 153 2. Nature and Status 155 3. Functions and Characteristics 156 Section 2. Military Policy and Strategy 160 1. Basic Objective 160 2. Military Strategy 163 Section 3. Structure and Institutions 168 1. Military Structure 168 2. Military Institutions 173 Section 4. Military Capacity 179 1. Standing Forces and Equipment 179 2. Reserve Forces 185 3. Development of Nuclear and Other Strategic Weapons 187 Section 5. Military Relations and Provocations against the South 194 1. External Military Relationship 194 2. North Korea’s Provocations against the South 199 Ⅴ. Economic Structure and Policy Section 1. Characteristics of Economic System and Basic Economic Policy 217 1. Basic Characteristics of Economic System 217 2. Basic Economic Policy 225 3. Establishment and Implementation of Economic Plans 234 Section 2. Economic Status by Sector 238 1. Macroeconomic Status and Tasks 238 2. Economic Status and Tasks by Sector 244 Section 3. Changes in Economic Policy and Outlook for Reform and Opening 259 1. Utilization and Control of Markets 259 2. Limited Opening 268 3. Prospects and Tasks for Reform and Opening 274 Ⅵ. Education and Culture Section 1. Education System and School Life 281 1. Education Policy and School System 281 2. Educational Curriculum and Methods 299 3. School Life 308 Section 2. Literary Art Policy and Current Status 314 1. Literary Art Policy 314 2. Current Status of Literature and Art 321 Section 3. The Media and its Functions 334 1. Newspapers 335 2. Broadcasting 340 VII Society and Life Section 1. Class Structure 349 1. Social Classes 349 2. Social Mobility and Class Structure 353 Section 2. Value System and Everyday Life 356 1. North Korean Citizens’Values 356 2. Daily Life and Life Cycle 362 3. Organizational Life 366 4. Clothing, Food, and Housing 373 5. Leisure and Holidays 380 Section 3. Religion in North Korea 386 1. View on Religion 386 2. Actual Conditions of Religious Beliefs 388 Section 4. Deviations and Social Control 391 1. Social Deviation and Crime committed by North Koreans 391 2. Social Control 398 Section 5. Human Rights in North Korea 404 1. Violation of Civic and Political Rights 405 2. Violation of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 410 3. Response to Criticism on Human Rights 413

Author : Andrei Lankov
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199390038

Get Book

The Real North Korea by Andrei Lankov Pdf

In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive

Author : C. Kenneth Quinones,Carlos Kenneth Quiñones,Joseph Tragert
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 1592571697

Get Book

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding North Korea by C. Kenneth Quinones,Carlos Kenneth Quiñones,Joseph Tragert Pdf

In this accessible guide, readers will find unmatched expert analysis of the volatile situation in North Korea, along with answers to frequently asked questions. Covered topics include: ¬ North Korea's geography, people, industry, political systems, and government ¬ The history of the country, from myths to kingdoms, including Japan's colonial rule and its effects ¬ The dictator, Kim Jong Il, and his father, Kim Il Sung ¬ The possibility of reunification with South Korea ¬ Options for international involvement

Author : Robert Carlin,Chung-in Moon
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 351 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2022-08-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781666906783

Get Book

Understanding Kim Jong-un's North Korea by Robert Carlin,Chung-in Moon Pdf

This ambitious book is constructed to provide the reader with unusually broad and deep insight into North Korea, illustrating how the Kim Jong-un regime calculates, balances, and addresses the various key policy challenges it faces. This will be accomplished through the extensive experience of the authors—Korean, European, and American—in North Korea and with North Koreans. There is no substitute for such direct experience in order to address the numerous myths and misconceptions that have grown up and persisted over the years about how the North functions, and how it perceives the world. Moreover, the usual focus on a single issue—for example, just nuclear or just economic matters—fails to provide a sense of how important the inter-relationship of these separate parts is in understanding the whole. The experience brought to bear in the book and the breadth of coverage provides badly needed, critical insights about North Korea at time when policy in Seoul and Washington toward the North is at a crucial hinge point.

Author : Chung-in Moon
Publisher : 연세대학교출판부
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Political Science
ISBN : STANFORD:36105073057791

Get Book

Understanding Regime Dynamics in North Korea by Chung-in Moon Pdf

Author : Ken E. Gause
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2011-08-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9798216123729

Get Book

North Korea under Kim Chong-il by Ken E. Gause Pdf

This much-needed study draws on fresh material and firsthand observation to provide an understanding of North Korea as it exists today. North Korea under Kim Chong-il: Power, Politics, and Prospects for Change delves deeply into what we know—and what we think we know—about the current North Korean system. This incisive book probes the dynamics that inform the nation's domestic and foreign policies, examining key leadership institutions and personalities, as well as prospects for the next regime. In outlining the major events behind Kim Chong-il's assumption of power, Ken E. Gause illuminates the environment that shaped Chong-il's worldview and his concept of the regime and his role in it. The book focuses on regime politics since 1994. Among other critical topics, the book examines the evolution of North Korean decision-making with regard to its internal and external affairs and how both are intermingled. The prospects for a third hereditary succession and the prospective stability of the next regime are also considered.

Author : Ra Jong-yil
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2019-05-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781438473741

Get Book

Inside North Korea’s Theocracy by Ra Jong-yil Pdf

First published in Korean in 2016, Inside North Korea's Theocracy offers a fascinating and rare look at the lives of several of the regime's key leaders. Its primary focus is Jang Song-thaek, a talented and reform-minded member of the political ruling class who was executed in 2013. Jang was the son-in-law of North Korean founder, Kim Il-sung; brother-in-law of its second leader, Kim Jong-il; and uncle to its current leader, Kim Jong-un. The author traces Jang's life from his youth as a brilliant student in Pyongyang to his eventual marriage to Kim Kyong-hui and his rising power as a businessman to, ultimately, his untimely death. In addition to biographical sketches of Jang, his wife, and brother-in-law, Ra Jong-yil provides first-hand impressions of life in North Korea and illuminates the inner workings of its government.

Author : Balázs Szalontai
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : History
ISBN : 0804753229

Get Book

Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era by Balázs Szalontai Pdf

Concentrating on the years 1953-64, this history describes how North Korea became more despotic even as other Communist countries underwent de-Stalinization. The author’s principal new source is the Hungarian diplomatic archives, which contain extensive reporting on Kim Il Sung and North Korea, thoroughly informed by research on the period in the Soviet and Eastern European archives and by recently published scholarship. Much of the story surrounds Kim Il Sung: his Korean nationalism and eagerness for Korean autarky; his efforts to balance the need for foreign aid and his hope for an independent foreign policy; and what seems to be his good sense of timing in doing in internal rivals without attracting Soviet retaliation. Through a series of comparisons not only with the USSR but also with Albania, Romania, Yugoslavia, China, and Vietnam, the author highlights unique features of North Korean communism during the period. Szalontai covers ongoing effects of Japanese colonization, the experiences of diverse Korean factions during World War II, and the weakness of the Communist Party in South Korea.

Author : Heonik Kwon,Byung-Ho Chung
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2012-03-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781442215771

Get Book

North Korea by Heonik Kwon,Byung-Ho Chung Pdf

This timely, pathbreaking study of North Korea’s political history and culture sheds invaluable light on the country’s unique leadership continuity and succession. Leading scholars Heonik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung begin by tracing Kim Il Sung’s rise to power during the Cold War. They show how his successor, his eldest son, Kim Jong Il, sponsored the production of revolutionary art to unleash a public political culture that would consolidate Kim’s charismatic power and his own hereditary authority. The result was the birth of a powerful modern theater state that sustains North Korean leaders’ sovereignty now to a third generation. In defiance of the instability to which so many revolutionary states eventually succumb, the durability of charismatic politics in North Korea defines its exceptional place in modern history. Kwon and Chung make an innovative contribution to comparative socialism and postsocialism as well as to the anthropology of the state. Their pioneering work is essential for all readers interested in understanding North Korea’s past and future, the destiny of charismatic power in modern politics, the role of art in enabling this power.

Author : U. S. Government
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 71 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-12
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1549728156

Get Book

Understanding North Korea by U. S. Government Pdf

In discussing the political regime of North Korea, there are two pointsto be made: Firstly, the Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un regimes are twoseparate phenomena. In the case of North Korea, there is no shortageof topics to discuss: nuclear missiles, three-generational hereditarysuccession, and human rights problems such as the defector issue.Therefore, discussions tend to focus exclusively on a particular topicand often fail to see the wood for the trees, so to speak.Secondly, research for this book relies primarily on informationreleased by the official North Korean media. Although informationprovided by defectors and unconfirmed internal documents can furtherunderstanding of North Korea, the analysis of official documents isthe basis of North Korean research. Analysis of the content of RodongSinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of theWorkers' Party of Korea (WPK), has been at the heart of this research.

Author : Jung H. Pak
Publisher : Ballantine Books
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2020-04-28
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781984819734

Get Book

Becoming Kim Jong Un by Jung H. Pak Pdf

A groundbreaking account of the rise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un—from his nuclear ambitions to his summits with President Donald J. Trump—by a leading American expert “Shrewdly sheds light on the world’s most recognizable mysterious leader, his life and what’s really going on behind the curtain.”—Newsweek When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea following his father's death in 2011, predictions about his imminent fall were rife. North Korea was isolated, poor, unable to feed its people, and clinging to its nuclear program for legitimacy. Surely this twentysomething with a bizarre haircut and no leadership experience would soon be usurped by his elders. Instead, the opposite happened. Now in his midthirties, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on his country and brought the United States and the region to the brink of war. Still, we know so little about him—or how he rules. Enter former CIA analyst Jung Pak, whose brilliant Brookings Institution essay “The Education of Kim Jong Un” cemented her status as the go-to authority on the calculating young leader. From the beginning of Kim’s reign, Pak has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. policy on North Korea and providing strategic assessments for leadership at the highest levels in the government. Now, in this masterly book, she traces and explains Kim’s ascent on the world stage, from his brutal power-consolidating purges to his abrupt pivot toward diplomatic engagement that led to his historic—and still poorly understood—summits with President Trump. She also sheds light on how a top intelligence analyst assesses thorny national security problems: avoiding biases, questioning assumptions, and identifying risks as well as opportunities. In piecing together Kim’s wholly unique life, Pak argues that his personality, perceptions, and preferences are underestimated by Washington policy wonks, who assume he sees the world as they do. As the North Korean nuclear threat grows, Becoming Kim Jong Un gives readers the first authoritative, behind-the-scenes look at Kim’s character and motivations, creating an insightful biography of the enigmatic man who could rule the hermit kingdom for decades—and has already left an indelible imprint on world history.

Author : Paul Rexton Kan
Publisher : Strategic Studies Institute
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Counterfeits and counterfeiting
ISBN : 9781584874324

Get Book

Criminal Sovereignty by Paul Rexton Kan Pdf

North Korea's criminal conduct, smuggling, trafficking, and counterfeiting, is well known, but the organization directing it is understudied or overlooked. North Korea practices a form of "criminal sovereignty" that is unique in the contemporary international security arena. It uses state sovereignty to protect itself from external interference in its domestic affairs while dedicating a portion of its government to carrying out illicit international activities in defiance of international law and the domestic laws of numerous other nations. The proceeds of these activities are used in a number of ways to sustain North Korea's existence and to enable other policies. The authors of this monograph focus on North Korea's Office #39 as the state apparatus that directs illicit activities to include the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, the counterfeiting of U.S. currency, and the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes. Finally, as Kim Jong-Il becomes more frail, the authors assess how his successor may continue or alter Office #39's activities.--

Author : Scott Snyder
Publisher : US Institute of Peace Press
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1878379941

Get Book

Negotiating on the Edge by Scott Snyder Pdf

The ordeal of negotiating with North Koreans during the Cold War has left the impression of a crazy and bizarre diplomacy, of negotiators who insult and provoke their Western counterparts while fabricating crises and fomenting discord. As "Negotiating on the Edge" reveals, however, there is not only a method to this madness but also an ongoing shift toward a less provocative negotiating style.Drawing on interviews with an eminent cast of U.S. officials and marshalling extensive research on North Korea past and present, Scott Snyder traces the historical and cultural roots of North Korea's negotiating behavior and exposes the full range of tactics in its diplomatic arsenal. He explains why North Koreans behave as they do, and he argues that there is, in fact, an internal logic to what often seems to be outrageous conduct.Finally, Snyder explores how economic desperation and the end of the Cold War have forced North Korea to modify its negotiating style and objectives. Focusing on the U.S. negotiating experience with North Korea in the 1990s, Snyder also deals comparatively with recent South Korean and multilateral attempts to engage Pyongyang."