North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy to Paradise

After the collapse of the Soviet world, North Korea alone has continued on the rigid communist way, in spite of its economic consequences leading the state beyond ruin to famine. What are the reasons behind this peculiar choice of direction? Why did the leaders in Pyongyang pursue a policy abandoned not only by the Soviet Union, but also by China and Vietnam?

The author of this book spent three years as head of the embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang. Until a few years ago, it was the only Wester...