North Korea: Another Country

Judging from media reports, North Korea is the country the rest of the world loves to hate. A charter member of George Bush's Axis of Evil whose leader, Kim Jong Il, is routinely described as "insane" and "diabolical" and a self-proclaimed alternative to the gospel of neo-liberalism and globalisation. Despite this popular negative image, few westerners can claim to know much about this secretive, closed society.

In this book, America's leading authority on Korea insists on a more nuanced understanding of North Korea's international relations. Suffering no illusions regarding North Korea's dubious political system - from human-rights violations to token democracy - Bruce Cumings draws on his extensive knowledge of Korean history and declassified government reports, from CIA reports on North Korea's impressive social programs to that country's genuine efforts to address the new strategic environment since the collapse of the Soviet Union, to show that North Korea is as fascinating as it is repellent, as formidable as it is unique and idiosyncratic.

The book gives a rare insight into a strange and isolated land whose political importance has grown in inverse proportion to our knowledge and understanding of its history, culture and political environment. Cumings is outspoken and candid in his attempts to challenge popular misconceptions about North Korea. His writing is as entertaining as it is informative as he lampoons media representations of North Korea and conservative foreign policy in this intelligent and original analysis of a subject of growing international importance.