The Hermit King: The Dangerous Game of Kim Jong Un

by Chung Min Lee

Overview

North Korea is poised at the crossroads of history. Which direction will its leader take?

Throughout the world, oppressive regimes are being uprooted and replaced by budding democracies, but one exception remains: The People's Republic of North Korea. The Kim family has clung to power for three generations by silencing dissidents, ruling with an iron fist, and holding its neighbors hostage with threats of war. Under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has come closer than ever to creating a viable nuclear arsenal, but widespread famine and growing resistance are weakening his regime's stability.

In The Hermit King, Asian geopolitical expert Chung Min Lee tells the story of the rise of the Kim Dynasty and its atrocities, motivations, and diplomatic goals. He also discusses the possible outcomes of its aggressive standoff with the world superpowers.

Kim Jong Un is not a crazed "Rocket Man" or a bumbling despot; he has been groomed since birth to take control of his country and stay in power at all costs. He is now at a fateful crossroads. Will he make good on decades of threats, liberalize North Korea and gain international legitimacy, or watch his regime crumble around him? Lee analyzes the likelihood and consequences of each of these possibilities, cautioning that in the end, a humanitarian crisis in the region is all but unavoidable. The Hermit King is a thoughtful and compelling look at the most complicated diplomatic situation on Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250202826
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/05/2019
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Chung Min Lee is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and chairman of the international advisory council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is an expert on Korean and East Asian security affairs, with more than 30 years of experience in leading think tanks and universities in South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Singapore. Lee served as ambassador for national security affairs for South Korea (2013-2016) and is the author of Fault Lines in a Rising Asia.

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Figures, and Tables vi

Author's Note vii

Note on Korean Names xi

Introduction 1

1 Life in Earth's Paradise 11

2 Will the Real Kim Jong Un Please Stand Up? 49

3 The Supreme Leader Enters the World 87

4 A New King Rises 113

5 The Kim Dynasty and Pyongyang's Power Elites 132

6 War Machine and Nuclear Weapons 157

7 Regional Giants and the Korean Peninsula 192

Conclusion: Three Gateways 233

Acknowledgments 247

List of Abbreviations 249

Notes 251

Index 281

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/23/2019

Korea analyst Chung Min Lee (Fault Lines in a Rising Asia) delivers a crisp examination of the rise and reign of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to Lee, the “ruthless and smart” Kim wants to do the impossible: Modernize North Korea’s economy without sacrificing his supremacy or the nation’s growing nuclear arsenal. Lee’s insightful précis of the Kim clan’s violent history reveals the extent to which the family has relied on executions, forced labor, and torture as tools of political oppression, and his breakdown of the current power structure is vital to any genuine understanding of the regime. Even as Kim scores prestige points domestically and internationally for his summit meetings with President Trump, Lee writes, the infallibility of the Kim dynasty has largely vanished from the hearts and minds of North Korea’s elites, who have learned to fend for themselves in the country’s informal jangmadang, or free market, system. Gaming out scenarios for the collapse or survival of the regime, Lee cogently assesses the political and military interests of the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan. Though he sees President Trump’s overtures to Kim as doing more harm than good, Lee believes that “freedom and democracy” are “the weapons of mass destruction Kim Jong Un fears most.” This is an excellent summation of one of the world’s most complex geopolitical flash points. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"A chilling portrait of a littler understood, often underestimated leader." —Lesley Williams, Booklist Review

“Critical reading for anyone interested in the future of the Korean Peninsula…Refreshing, honest and steeped in the analytic judgements of a long-time watcher of the hermit kingdom.” —Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies, Georgetown University

“Full of insights too often missed in the recent focus on North Korea's nuclear threat and Trump-Kim summitry. Lee not only highlights the history, culture and context that has shaped Kim Jong Un, but explains why Kim faces an enormous ‘Catch-22’ in pursuing economic transformation of his country while maintaining his grip on power. A stimulating and highly readable contribution.” —Kathleen Stephens, former US Ambassador to South Korea

“A breakout book from an author with more than thirty years of experience as one of Asia’s top security experts. No one in South Korea can tell the North Korean story to an American audience more compellingly than Chung Min Lee.” —Hyun In-taek, Professor of International Relations, Korea University and former Minister of Unification

“A comprehensive and up-to-date picture of North Korea under Kim Jong Un. If one wants to make sense of recent news concerning North Korea, this book is a must-read.” —Andrei Lankov, Professor of North Korean Studies, Kukmin University and author of The Real North Korea

“Kim Jong Un desperately wants to become North Korea’s Deng Xiaoping, but that would require him to loosen his family’s grip on power. Lee explores this dilemma and details the ongoing abuses of the failing North Korean system. Read this book if you want to understand North Korea and its formidable leader.” —Michael Fullilove, Director of the Lowy Institute

From the Publisher