In September 2017, North Korea shocked the world by exploding the most powerful nuclear device tested anywhere in 25 years. Months earlier, it had conducted the first test flight of a missile capable of ranging much of the United States. By the end of that year, Kim Jong Un, the reclusive state's ruler, declared that his nuclear deterrent was complete. Today, North Korea's nuclear weapons stockpile and ballistic missile arsenal continues to grow, presenting one of the most serious challenges to international security to date. Internal regime propaganda has called North Korea's nuclear forces the country's "treasured sword," underscoring the cherished place of these weapons in national strategy. Fiercely committed to self-reliance, Kim remains determined to avoid unilateral disarmament. Kim Jong Un and the Bomb tells the story of how North Korea-once derided in the 1970s as a "fourth-rate pipsqueak" of a country by President Richard Nixon-came to credibly threaten the American homeland by November 2017. Ankit Panda explores the contours of North Korea's nuclear capabilities, the developmental history of its weapons programs, and the prospects for disarming or constraining Kim's arsenal. With no signs that North Korea's total disarmament is imminent over the next years or even decade, Panda explores the consequences of a nuclear-armed North Korea for the United States, South Korea, and the world.

In 2017, North Korea shocked the world twice: by conducting the first test flight of a missile capable of ranging the US, and by exploding the most powerful nuclear device tested anywhere in a quarter century. By the end of the year, Kim Jong Un declared that his nuclear deterrent was complete. Today, North Korea's growing nuclear weapons stockpile and ballistic missile arsenal represent one of the most serious challenges we face to international security. But for all that the global danger is real, Kim's programme means more to him than world glory. Internal regime propaganda calls it the country's 'treasured sword', a cherished element of national strategy and a guarantee of regime survival. Fiercely committed to self-reliance, Kim remains determined to avoid unilateral disarmament. Kim Jong Un and the Bomb explores the history of North Korea's nuclear weapons development, its present capabilities, and the prospects of containing, if not disarming, Kim's arsenal. Ankit Panda argues that there is virtually no chance of total disarmament in the next decade, and that we'll have to learn to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea. His book confronts us head-on with the possible consequences for the US, South Korea and the world.

In 2017, North Korea shocked the world: test-flying a missile capable of reaching the US, exploding the most powerful nuclear device tested anywhere in a quarter-century, and declaring its nuclear deterrent complete. Today, Kim Jong Un's growing nuclear stockpile represents a grave threat to international security. But this programme means more to him than world glory. State propaganda calls it the 'treasured sword': Kim is determined to keep ruling, and he sees his nukes as the key to regime survival. Kim Jong Un and the Bomb explores the history of North Korea's nuclear weapons development, its present power, and the prospects of containing Kim's arsenal. This book confronts us with a nuclear-armed North Korea that is not going anywhere, and reveals what this means for the US, South Korea and the world.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Jong Un, the youngest son of Kim Jong Il, was chosen to be the next supreme leader of North Korea. He was brash, confident, and headstrong, but his youth would be a problem, particularly given the existence of powerful greybeards around Kim Jong Il who might try to influence the young leader. #2 Kim Jong Un, the son of Kim Jong Il, was proclaimed the new leader of North Korea in 2011. He quickly made global headlines for executing his uncle-by-marriage, Jang Song Thaek, one of his father’s most trusted and powerful deputies, in 2012. #3 Kim Jong Un, after barely two years in power, declared a new strategic line in March 2013 called byungjin, or parallel development. This line borrowed an old idea from his grandfather, first articulated in a 1962 speech to the Workers’ Party Central Committee. #4 Kim Jong Un’s byungjin was the successor to his father’s songun policy, which had put the Korean People’s Army at the forefront of affairs of state. Kim had been careful not to present these reforms to national defense as a break from his father or grandfather’s traditions.

A groundbreaking account of the rise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un—from his nuclear ambitions to his summits with President Donald J. Trump—by a leading American expert “Shrewdly sheds light on the world’s most recognizable mysterious leader, his life and what’s really going on behind the curtain.”—Newsweek When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea following his father's death in 2011, predictions about his imminent fall were rife. North Korea was isolated, poor, unable to feed its people, and clinging to its nuclear program for legitimacy. Surely this twentysomething with a bizarre haircut and no leadership experience would soon be usurped by his elders. Instead, the opposite happened. Now in his midthirties, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on his country and brought the United States and the region to the brink of war. Still, we know so little about him—or how he rules. Enter former CIA analyst Jung Pak, whose brilliant Brookings Institution essay “The Education of Kim Jong Un” cemented her status as the go-to authority on the calculating young leader. From the beginning of Kim’s reign, Pak has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. policy on North Korea and providing strategic assessments for leadership at the highest levels in the government. Now, in this masterly book, she traces and explains Kim’s ascent on the world stage, from his brutal power-consolidating purges to his abrupt pivot toward diplomatic engagement that led to his historic—and still poorly understood—summits with President Trump. She also sheds light on how a top intelligence analyst assesses thorny national security problems: avoiding biases, questioning assumptions, and identifying risks as well as opportunities. In piecing together Kim’s wholly unique life, Pak argues that his personality, perceptions, and preferences are underestimated by Washington policy wonks, who assume he sees the world as they do. As the North Korean nuclear threat grows, Becoming Kim Jong Un gives readers the first authoritative, behind-the-scenes look at Kim’s character and motivations, creating an insightful biography of the enigmatic man who could rule the hermit kingdom for decades—and has already left an indelible imprint on world history.

Former Pentagon insider Van Jackson explores how Trump and Kim reached - and avoided - the precipice of nuclear war.

North Korea's opaqueness combined with its military capabilities make the country and its leader dangerous wild cards in the international community. Brookings Senior Fellow Jung H. Pak, who led the U.S. intelligence community's analysis on Korean issues, tells the story of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's upbringing, provides insight on his decision-making, and makes recommendations on how to thwart Kim's ambitions. In her deep analysis of the personality of the North Korean leader, Pak makes clearer the reasoning behind the way he governs and conducts his foreign affairs.