Let's put the North Korean Crisis in perspective. Episode one of the North Korea series is a history lesson. We talk about the formation of the state of North Korea, from a annexed state under the control of a foreign government, to a puppet of the Soviet Union, to an independent state hell-bent on preservation. We talk about Kim il-Sung the establishment of the Kim Dynasty, from guerrilla leader to iron-fisted dictator, his story is full of tough decisions, tense negotiations, and mass murder. To understand the North Korea we all know today, you have to know about the Korea that used to be.

Sources:

-North Korea: A Bare Bones History by James Friend

-The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History by Don Oberdorfer and Robert Carlin

-Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty by Bradley Martin

-Inside North Korea Documentary by CNN