North Korea : what everyone needs to know / Patrick McEachern.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McEachern, Patrick, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

Korea (North)--Politics and government.

Korea (North).

Politics and government.

Korea (North)--Foreign relations.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

xv, 224 pages : map ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Summary:

Diplomatic expert Patrick McEachern unpacks the contentious and tangled relationship between the two Koreas in an approachable question-and-answer format.

Contents:

1 Origins and the Korean War p. 7

What is Korea's "5,000 years of history"? p. 7

Who ruled Korea before the division of the peninsula in 1945? p. 8

How did the Soviet Union influence the origins of North Korea? p. 11

How did the United States influence the origins of South Korea? p. 12

Who was North Korean leader Kim II Sung? p. 13

Who was South Korean President Syngman Rhee? p. 14

How do the two Koreas view each other? p. 15

What does everyone need to know about the Korean War? p. 18

What is the United Nations Command? p. 19

Why does the North Korean government hate the United States? p. 21

Why did the Korean War never officially end? p. 22

2 Korea's Hot War Turns Cold: Korea in the Cold War p. 25

What is the Juche philosophy of self-reliance? p. 25

How did Kim II Sung consolidate his power? p. 27

What was North Korea's early relationship with the Soviet Union? p. 29

What was North Korea's early relationship with China? p. 31

Why did the United States and South Korea sign a mutual defense treaty? p. 33

Who was South Korean President Park Chung-hee? p. 35

What was the South Korean economic "Miracle on the Han"? p. 38

How and when did South Korea overtake North Korea economically? p. 40

How did the two Koreas participate in the Vietnam War? p. 42

What was the "Second Korean War"? p. 43

What was South Korea's Yushin Constitution (and North Korea's response)? p. 45

What was the 1972 North-South Joint Communique? p. 47

Did North Korea try to assassinate South Korean leaders? p. 49

Who led South Korea during the democracy movement and consolidation? p. 51

How did South Korea democratize? p. 52

What was Nordpolitik? p. 53

Why were the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games important? p. 54

3 Post-Cold War p. 56

How did the Soviet collapse affect Korea? p. 56

How did China modify its Korea policy after the Cold War? p. 59

What happened when North Korean leader Kim II Sung died? p. 61

Who was North Korean leader Kim Jong II? p. 62

What was the North Korean famine? p. 64

What is North Korea's military-first ideology? p. 66

Who was South Korean President Kim Dae-jung? p. 68

What was the Sunshine Policy? p. 69

4 Nuclear Weapons and US-North Korea Relations p. 71

When did North Korea first pursue nuclear technology? p. 71

Did South Korea have a nuclear weapons program too? p. 72

Why did North Korea sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty? p. 74

What was the first North Korean nuclear crisis? p. 75

What was the US-DPRK Agreed Framework? p. 77

Why did the United States give North Korea aid? p. 79

When did North Korea start testing missiles to hit the United States? p. 80

Has North Korea sold long-range missiles to other countries? p. 83

Why did the US-DPRK Agreed Framework collapse? p. 84

What was the second North Korean nuclear crisis? p. 86

What were the Six Party Talks? p. 87

Has North Korea proliferated nuclear technology to other countries? p. 90

Why did the Six Party Talks stalemate? p. 92

When and why did North Korea conduct nuclear tests? p. 93

What is North Korea's byungjin policy? p. 94

Can North Korea strike the United States with nuclear weapons? p. 96

Can North Korea strike South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons? p. 97

What does North Korea seek from nuclear weapons? p. 98

What does North Korea want from the United States? p. 100

5 Korea-Japan Relations p. 102

What is the lasting effect of Japan's colonization of Korea? p. 102

Why did North Korea abduct Japanese citizens? p. 105

How has Japan tried to resolve the abduction issue? p. 106

What does North Korea want from Japan? p. 107

Why did South Korea normalize diplomatic relations with Japan? p. 110

What are the historical and territorial issues in South Korea-Japan relations? p. 111

What are the common strategic interests in South Korea-Japan relations? p. 114

6 US-South Korea Relations in the Twenty-First Century p. 118

How do South Koreans see the United States today? p. 118

What is the US military presence in South Korea? p. 120

What are the US-South Korea military exercises? p. 123

What are contemporary issues in the US-South Korea military alliance? p. 124

What are contemporary issues in the US-South Korea trade relationship? p. 127

7 Korean Leadership in the Twenty-First Century p. 130

What were the ten years of progressive rule in South Korea? p. 130

What was the South Korean conservative response to the ten years of progressive rule? p. 132

Who is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un? p. 134

What happened when Kim Jong II died? p. 136

Why did Kim Jong Un execute his uncle? p. 137

Why did Kim Jong Un assassinate his half-brother? p. 138

Who is South Korean President Moon Jae-in? p. 139

8 Inter-Korean Relations in the Twenty-First Century p. 141

What were the inter-Korean summits? p. 141

What were the North-South joint economic ventures at Kaesong and Mt. Kumgang? p. 143

What are inter-Korean family reunions? p. 144

What is the North Korean artillery threat to Seoul? p. 145

What was the Cheonan sinking? p. 146

What was the Yeonpyeong-do shelling? p. 147

Why did the North-South joint ventures at Kaesong and Mt. Kumgang end? p. 148

9 The Economy p. 151

Is North Korea economically self-reliant? p. 151

Who are North Korea's major trading partners? p. 153

Who are South Korea's major trading partners? p. 155

What sanctions are imposed on North Korea? p. 157

What would sanctions relief mean for North Korea? p. 159

What are North Korea's special economic zones? p. 160

10 Korean Society: North and South p. 162

What is North Korea's Songbun social classification system? p. 162

What does it mean to be a North Korean elite? p. 164

What is the status of women in North Korea? p. 167

How does the North Korean government control society? p. 169

How does North Korea propagandize its population? p. 170

How do North Koreans access outside information? p. 172

Do North Koreans have access to cell phones and the Internet? p. 174

What are the generational divides in South Korean politics? p. 176

What are the geographic divides in South Korean politics? p. 179

What is the Korean Wave in South Korea culture? p. 180

What unique pressures face South Korean youth? p. 181

How are North Korean defectors received in South Korea? p. 182

11 North Korean Human Rights p. 185

What is the status of human rights in North Korea? p. 185

What was the UN's Commission of Inquiry? p. 188

What are North Korea's prison camps? p. 189

Are North Koreans realty starving? p. 191

What is the "right to food"? p. 193

Why does North Korea target Christians in particular for persecution? p. 195

What are the prospects for Korean unification? p. 197

Will North Korea ever denuclearize? p. 198

Will South Korea develop nuclear weapons? p. 199

Will North Korea liberalize its economy? p. 201

Will North Korea ever improve its human rights record? p. 202

Who will lead North Korea after Kim Jong Un? p. 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-219) and index.

ISBN:

9780190937980

019093798X

9780190937997

0190937998

OCLC:

1090941876