num_pages: 431
description: On the Korean peninsula one of the greatest success stories of the postwar era confronts a famine-ridden―and possibly nuclear-armed―totalitarian state. The stakes are extraordinarily high for both North and South Korea and for countries such as the United States that have a direct stake in these affairs. This study, the most comprehensive volume to date on the subject, examines the current situation in the two Koreas in terms of three major the nuclear confrontation between the United States and North Korea, the North Korean famine, and the South Korean financial crisis. The future of the peninsula is then explored under three alternative successful reform in North Korea, collapse and absorption (as happened in Germany), and "muddling through" in which North Korea, supported by foreign powers, makes ad hoc, regime-preserving reforms that fall short of fundamental transformation.
language: English
title: Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas
titlecomplete: Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas
genres: History
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Peterson Institute for International Economics