Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-269) and index.

Chapter 1 Society Kim II Sung Built and How He Did It 1 -- Captain Kim Returns Home 1 -- Way to War 9 -- Between Moscow and Beijing: The Foreign Policy of Kim II Sung s North Korea 15 -- Dealing with the South 27 -- Command Society 34 -- A Country of Camps 45 -- World According to Kim II Sung 50 -- Silver Lining in a Social Disaster 61 -- Birth of Juche, the Rise of the Son, and the Slow-Motion Demise of a Hyper-Stalinist Economy 67 -- Chapter 2 Two Decades of Crisis 75 -- And Then the World Changed 75 -- Capitalism Reborn 82 -- State Withers Away 88 -- Taking the Exit Option: Not an Exodus Yet, But... 94 -- Arrival in Paradise, aka Capitalist Hell 97 -- Changing Worldviews 102 -- Chapter 3 Logic of Survival (Domestically) 109 -- Reform as Collective Political Suicide 109 -- Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle: (Not-So-Successful) Crackdowns on Market Activity 119 -- A Disaster That Almost Happened: The Currency Reform of 2009 126 -- Belated Rise of a "New Star General" 132 -- Sudden Beginning of a New Era 135 -- Chapter 4 Survival Diplomacy 145 -- Playing the Nuclear Card 146 -- Aid-Maximizing Diplomacy 150 -- Meanwhile, in South Korea... (the Rise of 386ers and Its Consequences) 157 -- A Decade of Sunshine 162 -- Sun Sets 172 -- Entry of China 179 -- INTERLUDE The Contours of a Future: What Might Happen to North Korea in the Next Two Decades 187 -- Why North Korea Is Likely to Continue for a While (But Not Forever) 188 -- Contours of a Coming Crisis 191 -- Stability Will Return, but How? 196 -- Chapter 5 What to Do about the North? 203 -- Why the Sticks Are Not Big Enough 203 -- Why the Carrots Are Not Sweet Enough (and Why "Strategic Patience" Is Not a Great Idea, Either) 208 -- Thinking Long Term 212 -- Hidden Benefits of Engagement 217 -- Reaching the People 225 -- Why They Matter: Working with the Refugees in South Korea 228 -- Chapter 6 Being Ready for What We Wish For 233 -- A Perfect Storm 234 -- A Provisional Confederation as the Least Unacceptable Solution 243 -- Something about Painkillers ... 252.