The Last Days of Kim Jong-il

North Korea has remained a thorn in the side of the United States ever since its creation in the aftermath of the Korean conflict of 1950–1953. Crafting a foreign policy that effectively deals with North Korea, while still ensuring stability and security on the Korean Peninsula—and in Northeast Asia as a whole—has proved very challenging for successive American administrations. In the wake of ruler Kim Jong-il’s death in December 2011, analysts and policymakers continue to speculate about the ef