A country of stark contradictions and puzzles, North Korea exhibits uncanny resilience in the face of external shocks and internal woes, raising important questions of theoretical and real-world significance. This volume offers a major reappraisal of the changing relationship between North Korea and its neighboring powers in the post-Cold War era in both theoretical and practical terms. The contributors examine the complex interplay of global, regional, and national forces that have influenced and shaped the changing patterns of conflict and cooperation in North Korea's relationships with China, Russia, and Japan and with the United States. Within the context of Northeast Asian geopolitics, the book tracks, explains, and assesses North Korea's survival strategies in both the security and economic domains, as well as the prospects of these strategies in the coming years.

Chapter 1 Preface Part 2 Part I: Theory and Practice Chapter 3 North Korea and Northeast Asia in World Politics Part 4 Part II: Interactions Chapter 5 United States-North Korean Relations: From Welfare to Workfare? Chapter 6 Japanese-North Korea Relations: Going in Circles Chapter 7 Chinese-North Korea Relations: Managing Asymmetrical Interdependence Chapter 8 Russian-North Korean Relations: A New Era? Part 9 Part III: Survival Strategy Chapter 10 North Korea's External Economic Relations: Globalization in 'Our Own Style' Chapter 11 North Korea's Security Policy: Swords into Plowshares? Chapter 12 Assessing the North Korean Threat: The Logic of Preemption, Prevention, and Engagement

Edited by Samuel S. Kim and Tai Hwan Lee - Contributions by Victor D. Cha; C S. Eliot Kang; Myonwoo Lee; Robert A. Manning; Marcus Noland and Elizabeth Wishnick