Book review: North Korea: the ‘worst place on Earth’?

Much discussed and often maligned, precious little is known or understood about North Korea, the world’s most controversial and isolated country. Victor Cha attempts to pull back the curtain, providing insights into North Korea’s history, and the rise of the Kim family dynasty. The Impossible State illuminates the regime’s complex economy and culture, its record of human-rights abuses, its relationship with its neighbours and the United States, and analyzes the regime’s major security issues; all in the light of the destabilizing effects of Kim Jong-il’s recent death. Reviewed by Hazel Smith. The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. Victor Cha. The Bodley Head. August 2012.