"Drawing upon his unique and deep academic work and policy experience,
Victor Cha has produced one of the most astute, insightful, and lucid
texts on North Korea. Simply put, this book is a must-read for
all--experts and casual observers alike--interested in developments on
the Korean Peninsula." --MARK LIPPERT, former U.S. Ambassador to the
Republic of Korea and Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and
International Studies
In The Impossible State, seasoned international-policy expert and
lauded scholar Victor Cha pulls back the curtain on provocative,
isolationist North Korea, providing our best look yet at its history and
the rise of the Kim family dynasty and the obsessive personality cult
that empowers them. Cha illuminates the repressive regime's complex
economy and culture, its appalling record of human rights abuses, and
its belligerent relationship with the United States, and analyzes the
regime's major security issues--from the seemingly endless war with its
southern neighbor to its frightening nuclear ambitions--all in light of
the destabilizing effects of Kim Jong-il's death and the transition of
power to his unpredictable heir.
Ultimately, this engagingly written, authoritative, and highly
accessible history warns of a regime that might be closer to its end
than many might think--a political collapse for which America and its
allies may be woefully unprepared.
