Understanding Contemporary Korea from a Russian Perspective

Anatoly Torkunov has served as rector of MGIMO University, Russia, since 1992. In 2008, he became full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Prof. Torkunov is the author and co-author of more than 200 scientific works, including 12 monographs. He is an expert in international relations, regional subsystems (in the Asia-Pacific region and Northeast Asia), the recent history of Korea, and the history of diplomacy. Georgy Toloraya is Honorary Director of the Center of Russian Strategy in Asia at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is a former diplomat and a scholar with decades-long experience on Asian and global issues. He served in Asia, including North and South Korea, collaborated with a number of Russian and international academic institutes and universities (including IMEMO, Brookings Institution, MGIMO, Higher School of Economics), and published 10 books and numerous articles on Asian affairs and global governance issues with specific interest on Korean affairs. Ilya Dyachkov has been teaching Korean and Korean Studies at MGIMO University, Russia. His research focuses on security in Northeast Asia, the Korean nuclear problem, inter-Korean cooperation, collective memory issues, and Russo-Korean relations. He authored over 60 works on Asia and Korea-related topics in Russian, English, and Korean.

• 1. Introduction.- Section 1: Diverging Development Paths.- Chapter 2. North Korea: The Decline of the Kim Jong-IL Era.- Chapter 3. The Start of Kim Jong-UN's Era in North Korea: Political Consolidation.- Chapter 4. New Socio-Economic Trends of the Kim Jong-UN Era: Covert Transformations.- Chapter 5. South Korea: The Conservatives Strike Back.- Chapter 6. The Fall of the "Father of the Nation's" Daughter: South Korea Under Park Guenhye.- Chapter 7. The Comeback of the Liberals in South Korea.- Chapter 8. Inter-Korean Relations: Ups and Downs.- Section 2: The Nuclear Challenge.- Chapter 9. North Koreas's Nuclear Missile Policy: New Facts.- Chapter 10. Bilateral and Multilateral  Diplomacy in Times of Growing Tensions Between Pyongyang and the Administrations of Barack Obama and Lee Myungbak.- Chapter 11. A New Period of Confrontation (2010-2017).- Chapter 12. Detente and Stagnation–What Lies Ahead?.- Chapter 13. Advantages of the SIx-Party Format as the Foundation of the Collective Security System in North East Asia.- Section 3: Partnering with Russia.- Chapter 14. Russia's Political Focus on the Korean Settlement.- Chapter 15. A Difficult but Frank Dialogue with Kim Jong-IL.- Chapter 16. Russia's Relations with North Korea Under Kim Jong-UN: Ups and Downs.- Chapter 17. Breaking the Deadlock in Economic Cooperation with North Korea.- Chapter 18. On the Path Towards a "Strategic Partnership" with South Korea: Challenges of the Conservative Decade and New Hopes.- Chapter 19. Russia-South Korea Economic Relations Against the Background of Regional Economic Integration.- Epilogue.