Tim Beal – författare

This book seeks to demystify North Korea by cutting through the propaganda to unearth the complex and contradictory realities of this unique country. The North is not a 'workers' paradise' but neither is it a threat to its neighbours and the world. The once vigorous economy was devastated by the collapse of the Soviet Union and now its main foreign policy objective, and the key to its economic rehabilitation, is normalisation of relations with the United States. But not normalisation at the expense of independence. Tim Beal reveals a country overburdened by military spending that sees itself under constant threat. However, he also reveals how North Korea has opened to the world in recent years, establishing diplomatic relations with the West and trying to break free of foreign aid. Exploring a broad range of subjects including the historical and political framework of North Korea, the development of the nuclear crisis, human rights issues, drug trading, as well as its shifting relationship with South Korea, this is an ideal book for anyone who wants a thorough introduction to the remarkable challenges this country faces.

The South Korean warship Cheonan was sunk in mysterious circumstances on 26 March 2010. The remarkable events that followed are analysed by Tim Beal and woven into a larger study of the increasingly volatile relations between North and South Korea and US concern about the rise of China.South Korea's stance towards the North has hardened significantly since the new conservative government came to power. Beal argues that the South moved quickly to use the sinking of the Cheonan to put international pressure on the North, even before the cause of the sinking had been established. The US followed suit by attempting to pressurise China into condemning North Korea. The media reports at the time presented an open and shut case of unprovoked North Korean aggression, but the evidence points towards the accidental triggering of a South Korean mine as the cause and South Korean fabrication to incriminate the North.With the South bent on forcing the fall of the North's regime with US help and China unlikely to stand idly by, this book offers an essential guide to the key factors behind the crisis and possible solutions.

The book examines the expansion of investment and trade between China and New Zealand, and its changing composition within the political framework, especially the 2008 Free Trade Agreement.