North Korea: Past and Future

North Korea is still a ticking bomb. An interesting article on the NYRB examines recent developments and future scenarios.

Here's the interesting conclusion:

Oddly though, what Kim Jong Il would decide if asked to choose between the bomb and a full, normal, nonbelligerent relationship with Washington has never been tested. Very likely, a working relationship with the United States would prove more subversive of the North Korean dictatorship than the efforts to isolate it and punish it have been. It is something that a new administration might try, assuming it is not already too late.