“In Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era, Hungarian scholar Balazs Szalontai presents the first major study of post-Korean War North Korea based primarily on East European documents. His extensively researched, impressively detailed and insightful book does a great service to the fields of Korean studies, Cold War history, and the history of Communist regimes. It should be required reading for anyone curious about the workings of this reclusive country, not least the policymakers in Washington...”—Moscow Times
"This book, a rigorously documented analysis of Kim Il Sung's despotism, is important reading for any serious student of North Korea."—Asian Affairs
| 1 | Historical background | 1 |
| 2 | Arisen from ashes | 35 |
| 3 | Crisis and confrontation | 62 |
| 4 | A challenge to the leader | 85 |
| 5 | Ch'ollima and repression | 113 |
| 6 | Breezes of reform | 136 |
| 7 | Defying the Kremlin | 174 |
| 8 | The matrix of North Korean despotism | 210 |
Overview
“In Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era, Hungarian scholar Balazs Szalontai presents the first major study of post-Korean War North Korea based primarily on East European documents. His extensively researched, impressively detailed and insightful book does a great service to the fields of Korean studies, Cold War history, and the history of Communist regimes. It should be required reading for anyone curious about the workings of this reclusive country, not least the policymakers in Washington...”—Moscow Times
"This...