The Kim family has clung to power for three generations in North Korea by silencing dissidents, ruling with an iron fist, and holding its neighbors hostage with threats of war. Under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has come closer than ever to creating a viable nuclear arsenal, and despite President Trump’s assertions, Kim won’t give them up. As much as Kim wants to change North Korea, he can’t because he needs to maintain a totalitarian system,
Chung Min Lee will preview his new book The Hermit King: The Dangerous Game of Kim Jong Un. Jean H. Lee will moderate.
Chung Min Lee
Chung Min Lee is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Asia Program. He is an expert on Korean and Northeast Asian security, defense, intelligence, and crisis management. Prior to joining Carnegie, he worked at leading universities and think tanks in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and the United States for thirty years.
Jean H. Lee
Jean H. Lee is the director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center. She is a Pulitzer-nominated veteran foreign correspondent and expert on North Korea. Lee led the Associated Press news agency’s coverage of the Korean Peninsula as bureau chief from 2008 to 2013.
