North Korea’s regime is often characterized as rogue, irrational, and even crazy. But, as South Korea’s negotiations with its neighbor leading up to the Winter Olympics showed, diplomatic talks with the regime are not only possible, but can also be productive—and are radically necessary.
Drawing on his own diplomatic engagement with the nation’s leadership, Glyn Ford challenges the image of North Korea as a failed state run by a mad leader and provides game-changing insights into the regime’s internal logic. Acknowledging that the North is a deeply flawed state with an atrocious record on human rights, he shows that some sections of the leadership are desperate to modernize and end North Korea’s isolation, efforts which are stymied by the regime’s scant resources and few friends abroad. The country is trapped in an arms race against its enemies and is dependent on its military and nuclear program for economic development. Assessing North Korea’s plight from a diplomatic perspective, Ford asks the key question: What if, instead of forcing regime change, the West engaged with those who want to change the country from within?
Undermining the usual simplistic explanations, Talking to North Korea presents a clear road map to avert the looming threat of a war that could threaten the political stability and lives of millions in the region and the wider world.
