Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors' expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea's political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns. Considering the implications for Pyongyang's transition, it focuses especially on the transformation of ideology, the Worker's Party of Korea, the military, effects of the Arab Spring, the emerging merchant class, cultural infiltration from the South, Western aid, and global economic integration. The contributors also assess the impact of North Korea's new policies on China, South Korea, the United States, and the rest of the world. Comprehensive and deeply knowledgeable, their analysis is especially crucial given the power consolidation efforts of the new leadership underway in Pyongyang and the implications for both domestic and international politics. Contributions by: Nicholas Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Bradley Babson, Victor Cha, Bruce Cumings, Nicholas Eberstadt, Ken Gause, David Kang, Andrei Lankov, Woo Young Lee, Liu Ming, Haksoon Paik, Kyung-Ae Park, Terence Roehrig, Jungmin Seo, and Scott Snyder.

A comprehensive, systematic analysis of the North Korean economy, exposing its hidden workings through quantitative data analysis and surveys.

Mention North Korea to people today and they will conjure up many unflattering images, particularly in the wake of George W. Bush denouncing the state as part of an "axis of evil". Despite this cold war type rhetoric, the state of North Korea has begun to recognise the difficult challenges that it faces and is now trying to get to grips with them systematically. This book brings together a selection of many of the world experts on the North Korean economy and covers such important issues as: *possible unification with South Korea *the significance of China's economic success *Europe and the United States' roles in North Korea North Korea in the World Economy provides an accessible, well-written and comprehensive account of this unique country and its economy. It will be extremely interesting not only for students and academics with an interest in Korean studies, international finance and transition economies but also for anyone with an interest in international economics.

Kim Jong-il once declared he would transform North Korea into a great and powerful country by 2012, apparently believing that nuclear weapons would compel the international community to engage on his terms. With no such prospect in sight and Kim himself now in failing health, his regime faces a multitude of intractable problems. Kim has apparently chosen his twenty-something third son as his successor, but will North Koreans accept this inexperienced young man as their leader, and will he embrace new thinking to solve the country's problems? Why do North Korean leaders resist reform of an economic system that impoverishes the people? Can a country so dependent on outside help continue to defy the international community? In Troubled Transition, leading international experts examine these dilemmas, offering new insights into how a troubled North Korea may evolve in light of the ways other command economies and totalitarian states--from the Soviet Union and East Germany to Vietnam and China--have transitioned.