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Talking to North Korea: Ending the Nuclear Standoff
Few attempts have been made to understand the internal logic of Kim Jong-un’s regime and why life in North Korea is so difficult.
This provocative insider’s account blasts apart the myths which paint North Korea as a rogue state run by a mad leader. Informed by extraordinary access to the country's leadership, Glyn Ford investigates the regime from the inside, providing game-changing insights. Acknowledging that North Korea is a deeply flawed and barbaric state, he nonetheless shows that sections of the leadership are desperate to modernize and end their isolation.
With chapters on recent developments including the Trump / Kim summit, Ford supports a dialogue between East and West and provides a road map to avert the looming threat of a war that would threaten the lives of millions.
This provocative insider’s account blasts apart the myths which paint North Korea as a rogue state run by a mad leader. Informed by extraordinary access to the country's leadership, Glyn Ford investigates the regime from the inside, providing game-changing insights. Acknowledging that North Korea is a deeply flawed and barbaric state, he nonetheless shows that sections of the leadership are desperate to modernize and end their isolation.
With chapters on recent developments including the Trump / Kim summit, Ford supports a dialogue between East and West and provides a road map to avert the looming threat of a war that would threaten the lives of millions.
- GenresNonfictionAsia
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2018
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About the author
Glyn Ford
13 booksGlyn Ford MEP is a North East Asia specialist within the European Parliament with a particular interest in North Korea. Over the last decade or more Glyn has been a frequent visitor to North Korea and has hosted North Korean delegations to the EU on many occasions. He is also a regular visitor to Japan, China and South Korea.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 4, 2021
Very accessible, short but comprehensive history of North Korea, the Korean war, and definitely doesn't take a western bias. It adequately outlines the motivations for the DPRK's building of a nuclear deterrent (the killing of a fifth of their population by the USA and wariness of threats from outside), the barriers to "peace" and denuclearisation domestically and internationally, the impact of disproportionate sanctions on the working class, and the Kim dynasty's abandoning of Marxism-leninism in favour of nationalist Juche. Unfortunately, as a book about actually having successful dialogue with the nation, both from the west and North Korea's neighbours, which would inevitably improve living conditions for their citizens and decrease the chances of nuclear genocide in East Asia, Ford spends only a few pages, though with clear experience and knowledge from visiting the country multiple times, on proposing a way to improve the situation. Given the lack of balanced, informed texts on this topic, it's a missed opportunity. It effectively dispels myths, provides clarity on a topic those of us outside of government know little about, and convincingly puts forward the case of a humanitarian approach to the ongoing conflict.
February 7, 2019
Ford manages to be both authorative and accessable, which given the subject is very much appreciated.
Ford's only bias is to humanitarianism, and he discusses with clarity and fair-handedness the history and present situation. Given the overwhelming bogeymanning of North Korea, this will likely come across as a bias towards the regime. However by the same bogeyman standard, his assessment of the NK leadership would get him shot out a cannon, or thrown into molten metal, or all the other fabricated fates of critics; instead he's a regular visitor and has unparalleled access to the regime.
This book was really a revalation to me, the situation is now far clearer, and most coverage looks an utter nonsense. Ford doesn't just 'humanise' the regime, crucially but rationalises the policies. America has a habit of dealing with 'mad dogs' it need 'putting down', and even those aware of this forced framework, by virtue of limited coverage, end up believing at least some of the rhetoric. Ford delivers to the reader a North Korea that is certainly pariah, but no 'mad dog' at all.
Ford's only bias is to humanitarianism, and he discusses with clarity and fair-handedness the history and present situation. Given the overwhelming bogeymanning of North Korea, this will likely come across as a bias towards the regime. However by the same bogeyman standard, his assessment of the NK leadership would get him shot out a cannon, or thrown into molten metal, or all the other fabricated fates of critics; instead he's a regular visitor and has unparalleled access to the regime.
This book was really a revalation to me, the situation is now far clearer, and most coverage looks an utter nonsense. Ford doesn't just 'humanise' the regime, crucially but rationalises the policies. America has a habit of dealing with 'mad dogs' it need 'putting down', and even those aware of this forced framework, by virtue of limited coverage, end up believing at least some of the rhetoric. Ford delivers to the reader a North Korea that is certainly pariah, but no 'mad dog' at all.
October 31, 2021
Highly accessible, very interesting, and very informative. To understand the present, we have to take a look at history first, which is what Glyn endeavors to do briefly at the beginning here. I've interviewed Glyn Ford twice on The David Feldman Show, very fun and interesting interviews!
See the interviews here:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/stZyvHjqSgA?t=1937
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SY5m0-m7hVs?t=2266
See the interviews here:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/stZyvHjqSgA?t=1937
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SY5m0-m7hVs?t=2266
October 29, 2022
The book “Talking to North Korea: Ending the Nuclear Standoff” was written by Glyn Ford, an experienced North Korea watcher and a former Member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom. His first diplomatic contacts with Pyongyang as a parliamentarian happened in the 1990s, accumulating almost to fifty visits throughout his tenure. As a British academic and Labour Party Politician, he has made many publications on a variety of social and world policy issues (one of his other major DPRK-related works is “North Korea on the Brink: Struggle for Survival”).
In this book, Ford attempts to answer one of the most complicated questions related to the conflict on the Korean Peninsula – how could South Korea, the United States and their allies finally end their nuclear confrontation with the DPRK?
I have tried to take several factors into consideration, when reviewing the book.
Relevance 5/5
As a politician and a parliamentary diplomat, the author offers unique insights from his experiences of negotiating with North Koreans. Specifically, the book provides very detailed explanations of the motivations of the North Korean elites behind building and maintaining their nuclear arsenal; it outlines the main hindrances on the way of the Korean peace process; as well as explains the real impact of sanctions on the North Korean economy. What it also does very successfully, is crushing stereotypes about North Korea without rose-tainting the country and its leadership.
The main argument of the author is centred around the security concerns of the DPRK’s leadership as well as the need for multilateral security guarantees on their side. It also offers a valid critique of the “complete, irreversible, and verifiable disarmament” concept. I strongly believe that even today in 2021, the book remains very relevant (and is likely to remain so for the upcoming years).
Style & Structure – 4.5/5
The book is rather short but comprehensive, offering a succint history of North Korea and the Korean war before dwelling into political details of the nuclear stand-off. I personally have not encountered any problems when reading it and was done with it in just two days. The book’s style is very reader-friendly and not academically dry (since the author wears a double-hat of a politician and a researcher, he knows how to keep the reader’s attention).
No special knowledge of international security-related disciplines is required. Reading the book requires only a broad understanding of and interest in the North Korean nuclear problem as well as some basic interest in politics/history.
While the factual and contextual parts of explaining the nuclear problem occupy more than a half of the book, Ford uses them as key building blocks feeding into a separate chapter where he summarises the key recommendations on how to solve the problem in the long run. Unfortunately, that last section is a bit short, but the author’s line of argument is both elegant and convincing, which makes it worthwhile anyway.
Factuality 5/5
I have not encountered any factual mistakes while reading this book, while the author references both credible sources/experts as well as his direct negotiating experience with North Koreans. The author convincingly argues in favour of a humanitarian approach to the conflict. Both the socio-economic and foreign policy accounts are supported and supplemented by extremely serious literature review.
Objectivity – 5/5
Given the lack of balanced, informed texts on the topic of North Korean disarmament, it is very refreshing to read a Western book on North Korea, which is written in neutral tones and using a very rational argumentative approach. While clearly advocating for negotiations, Ford does not humanise the authoritarian regime in Pyongyang, but successfully rationalises its policies, which is the biggest advantage of the book.
Total: 4.9/5
A refreshing Western look on the question of North Korean denuclearization, which is both soberingly realistic but slightly hopeful.
In this book, Ford attempts to answer one of the most complicated questions related to the conflict on the Korean Peninsula – how could South Korea, the United States and their allies finally end their nuclear confrontation with the DPRK?
I have tried to take several factors into consideration, when reviewing the book.
Relevance 5/5
As a politician and a parliamentary diplomat, the author offers unique insights from his experiences of negotiating with North Koreans. Specifically, the book provides very detailed explanations of the motivations of the North Korean elites behind building and maintaining their nuclear arsenal; it outlines the main hindrances on the way of the Korean peace process; as well as explains the real impact of sanctions on the North Korean economy. What it also does very successfully, is crushing stereotypes about North Korea without rose-tainting the country and its leadership.
The main argument of the author is centred around the security concerns of the DPRK’s leadership as well as the need for multilateral security guarantees on their side. It also offers a valid critique of the “complete, irreversible, and verifiable disarmament” concept. I strongly believe that even today in 2021, the book remains very relevant (and is likely to remain so for the upcoming years).
Style & Structure – 4.5/5
The book is rather short but comprehensive, offering a succint history of North Korea and the Korean war before dwelling into political details of the nuclear stand-off. I personally have not encountered any problems when reading it and was done with it in just two days. The book’s style is very reader-friendly and not academically dry (since the author wears a double-hat of a politician and a researcher, he knows how to keep the reader’s attention).
No special knowledge of international security-related disciplines is required. Reading the book requires only a broad understanding of and interest in the North Korean nuclear problem as well as some basic interest in politics/history.
While the factual and contextual parts of explaining the nuclear problem occupy more than a half of the book, Ford uses them as key building blocks feeding into a separate chapter where he summarises the key recommendations on how to solve the problem in the long run. Unfortunately, that last section is a bit short, but the author’s line of argument is both elegant and convincing, which makes it worthwhile anyway.
Factuality 5/5
I have not encountered any factual mistakes while reading this book, while the author references both credible sources/experts as well as his direct negotiating experience with North Koreans. The author convincingly argues in favour of a humanitarian approach to the conflict. Both the socio-economic and foreign policy accounts are supported and supplemented by extremely serious literature review.
Objectivity – 5/5
Given the lack of balanced, informed texts on the topic of North Korean disarmament, it is very refreshing to read a Western book on North Korea, which is written in neutral tones and using a very rational argumentative approach. While clearly advocating for negotiations, Ford does not humanise the authoritarian regime in Pyongyang, but successfully rationalises its policies, which is the biggest advantage of the book.
Total: 4.9/5
A refreshing Western look on the question of North Korean denuclearization, which is both soberingly realistic but slightly hopeful.
October 27, 2018
'Talking to North Korea' is that rarest of things: a helpful, sensible, balanced, interesting and informative book about North Korea, by a credible author. Glyn Ford is a former Labour MEP and expert in international relations. He has visited Pyongyang over a hundred times and has access to the highest levels of the government there, and has toured the entire country. He is therefore uniquely well placed to explain and contextualise North Korean politics, and to give suggestions as to how to move the peace process forward. Essential reading, and a good update to the similar (but earlier) 'Korean Endgame', by recently-deceased veteran diplomat Selig Harrison.
February 5, 2019
How refreshing to read a book on North Korea written by someone who has been there many times over many years, with enviable access as a member of the European Parliament.
The author writes without the political, even emotional, baggage that often comes when Western and particularly US writers address this topic.
Clearly written, easy to read, based in fact... this is a road map to what must necessarily be a long road to normal relations between the DPRK and the world, but one we can and must travel, given goodwill and trust building on all sides.
The author writes without the political, even emotional, baggage that often comes when Western and particularly US writers address this topic.
Clearly written, easy to read, based in fact... this is a road map to what must necessarily be a long road to normal relations between the DPRK and the world, but one we can and must travel, given goodwill and trust building on all sides.
March 28, 2021
Contrary to the title, this is more a history and socio-economic commentary on North Korea rather than a discussion of ending the nuclear standoff and even in the parts that deal with the latter it is simply recycling what others have proposed.
February 14, 2019
Excellent!
June 14, 2025
taught me a lot and easy to read/understand for someone with no background knowledge on the topic. however it did require a bit more editing due to repetitiveness in certain chapters
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews