North Korea continues to make headlines, arousing curiosity and fear in equal measure. The world's most secretive nuclear power, it still has Gulag-style prison camps, allows no access to the Internet and bans its people from talking to foreigners without official approval. In this remarkable and eye-opening book, internationally best-selling author Paul French examines in forensic detail the history and politics of North Korea, Pyongyang's complex relations with South Korea, Japan, China and America, and the implications of Kim Jong-un's increasingly belligerent leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.As an already unstable North Korea grows ever more unpredictable, antagonizing enemies and allies alike, North Korea: State of Paranoia delivers a provocative and frightening account of a potentially explosive nuclear tripwire.

Foreword: The Myth and the Reality of the State of Paranoia Introduction: The Paranoid Peninsula Part I: The Juche Nation: Beloved Leaders, Brilliant Thoughts, Power Cuts and Empty Shelves 1. A Normal Day in Pyongyang 2. The Juche State: Political Theory in North Korea 3. The Revolutionary Dynasty: Leadership in North Korea Part II: The Economics of North Korea: Chollima, Speed Battles, Collapse and Famine 4. Economics Pyongyang Style: Command and Control 5. The Worst of Times: Food, Famine and the Arduous March 6. The Start of a Sort of Reform: Change and Regime Survival 7. The Reality of Reform: A Case Study of Sinuiju Part III: Diplomacy and Military: Foreign Relations, Nuclear Crisis and Self-Defence 8. Don't Poke the Snake: US-DPRK relations 9. Nuclear Ambitions Revealed: Bluster, Brinkmanship or Battle? 10. 'Military First' Emerges Part IV: Change, Collapse and Reunification 11. One Korea: The Dream of Reunification 12. Kim3: The Dynasty Continues 13. How Will the Story End? Conclusion: Still the World's Most Dangerous Tripwire