The last days of Kim Jong-il [electronic resource] : the North Korean threat in a changing era / Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr.

ISBN:

9781612346120

Title:

Author:

Bechtol, Bruce E., 1959-

Personal Author:

Bechtol, Bruce E., 1959-

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Washington, D.C. : Potomac Books, [2013]

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 223 pages) : illustrations, maps

Contents:

Introduction -- Maintaining a rogue military: North Korea's military capabilities and strategy at the end of the Kim Jong-il era and South Korea's ability to counter the DPRK threat -- The sinking of the Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island: a case study of North Korea's asymmetric northern limit line strategy -- Planning for the unthinkable: countering a North Korean nuclear attack and management of postattack scenarios -- North Korea and support for terrorism: an evolving history -- Conclusion: the impact of the last years of the Kim Jong-il regime on the future of North Korea.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Personal Subject:

Kim, Chŏng-il, 1942-2011.

Subject Term:

Security, International.

Geographic Term:

Korea (North) -- Politics and government -- 1994-2011.

United States -- Foreign relations -- Korea (North)

Korea (North) -- Foreign relations -- United States.

Korea (North) -- Military policy.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2013

Publication Information:

Washington, D.C. : Potomac Books, [2013]

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
951.93051092 23	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

North Korea has remained a thorn in the side of the United States ever since its creation in the aftermath of the Korean conflict of 1950--1953. Crafting a foreign policy that effectively deals with North Korea, while still ensuring stability and security on the Korean Peninsula--and in Northeast Asia as a whole--has proved very challenging for successive American administrations. In the wake of ruler Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011, analysts and policymakers continue to speculate about the effect his last years as leader will have on the future of North Korea.

Bruce Bechtol, Jr. contends that Kim Jong-il's regime (1994--2011) exacerbated the threats that North Korea posed, and still poses, to the world. Bechtol explains how North Korea presents important challenges on five key fronts: its evolving conventional military threat, its strategy in the Northern Limit Line (NLL) area, its nuclear capabilities, its support for terrorism, and its handling of the succession process.

Bechtol's analysis clears up the persistent mystery of how Kim Jong-il's dysfunctional government in its final years was able to persist in power while both presenting a grave danger to its neighbors and setting the stage for the current government. This work addresses issues important for policymakers and academics who must deal with those in power in North Korea.