Understanding North Korea

Edited by Jongwoo Han and Jung Tae-hern - Contributions by Chin Hee-gwan; Kee Kwang-seo; Kim Gwang-oon; Kim Keun-sik; Kim Yeon-chul; Lee Gee-dong; Lee Jong-seok; Lee Ju-cheol; Lee Woo-young; Lim Soo-Ho; Suh Bo-hyuk; Suh Choo-suk and Yea Dae-yeol

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).

Chapter 1 - IntroductionIs US Policy toward North Korea Actually Beneficial to the United States?On the Significance of Introducing South Korean Scholarship on North Korea to Anglophone ReadersJung Tae-hern (Department of Korean History, Korea University) and Han Jong-woo (Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyunghee University)PART 1 - Historical Evolution of North Korea's Monolithic Political System and Its Main CharacteristicsChapter 2The Historical Origins and Formation of the Monolithic Political System in North KoreaKee Kwang-seo (Chosun University)Chapter 3The Stability of the Monolithic System under Kim Jong-un: An AnalysisKim Keun-sik (Kyungnam University) and Lee Gee-dong (Institute for National Security Strategy)Chapter 4The Power Elite of North Korea's Monolithic SystemLee Ju-cheol (Korea Broadcasting System)PART 2 - Change in North Korean Society from the View of Economic Policy and Social TransformationChapter 5Potential for Economic Reform in North KoreaKim Yeon-chul (Inje University)Chapter 6North Korean Economy in Transition: Market FeudalismHan Jong-woo (Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University)Chapter 7The Process of Social Change in North KoreaLee Woo-young (University of North Korean Studies)PART 3 - North Korea's Foreign Policy, Perception of the United States, and Its Relations with the United States and China (G2)Chapter 8Surviving in the Face of Hegemony: North Korea's Post-Cold War American PolicySuh Bo-hyuk (Seoul National University)Chapter 9The Formation and Development of North Korea's Understanding of the United StatesKim Kwang-un (National Institute of Korean History)Chapter 10The Transformation of China-North Korea Relations and Its ImplicationsLee Jong-seok (Sejong Institute)Chapter 11Twenty Years of the North Korean Nuclearization Problem: The North Korean PerspectiveLim Soo-ho (Samsung Economic Research Institute)Part 4 - The Inter-Korean Relationship, United States and North East AsiaChapter 12Change in North Korea's Policy toward South Korea and Its ImplicationsChin Hee-gwan (Inje University)Chapter 13Understanding Conflict on the Korean Peninsula: A Focus on the Yellow Sea IncidentSuh Choo-suk (Korea Institute for Defense Analyses)Chapter 14Economic Cooperation between the Two Koreas: Present and FutureKim Yeon-chul (Inje University)Chapter 15The Irony of American Policy Toward North Korea: Regime DenialHan Jong-woo (Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University)Chapter 16 - ConclusionComprehensive Summary and Prospects for a Better FutureJung Tae-hern (Department of Korean History, Korea University) and Han Jong-woo (Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University)AppendicesMajor Indicators and Statistics and Current Inter-Korean RelationsYea Dae-yeol (Korea University)