Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World

Cold War International History Project

by Benjamin R. Young

"This book considers the history of North Korea's foreign relations with the Third World and the ways in which the regime in Pyongyang established ideological, military, and diplomatic ties with postcolonial African, southern Asian, and Latin American nations"--

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2021

About the author

Dr. Benjamin R. Young is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Intelligence Studies at Fayetteville State University. He was a Stanton Foundation Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation from 2024-2025.

He has taught a wide range of international and national security courses at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dakota State University, and the U.S Naval War College. He has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on North Korea, East Asian politics, and Cold War international history in academic journals. He has also written journalistic pieces for The Washington Post, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Nikkei Asia, The National Interest, The Hill, and NKNews.org. Dr. Young has lived in South Korea during a Fulbright fellowship and has traveled extensively in North Korea, Cuba, China, and Russia. He holds a PhD in Asian history from George Washington University, a MA in world history from SUNY Brockport, and a B.S in history from SUNY Brockport

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many interesting facts about North Korea from their prosperous days that I never knew. The author also has an interesting interview on the nknew.org podcast. Worth a read, for sure!

[James Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid history buff, I am receiving one of my Bachelor's degree's in anthropology. Although my concentration is in archaeology, for a class I was required to read this book. "Guns, Guerrillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World" is a phenomenally written book that greatly explains the DPRK within the Cold War era. I find that some non-fictions books can be incredibly dense, but I enjoyed Dr. Young's book. If there are any professors or educators wanting to incorporate this book into their curriculum, I highly suggest it as it is a swift and efficient read regarding the internal and foreign affairs of the DPRK under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

[Thomas Kingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowadays we think of North Korea as hermetic, it's isolationism occasionally broken by summits and sabre rattling. However, it was not always that way and this excellent monograph sets out to explore the decades of Cold War engagement that North Korea had with the Third World.

Taking varied forms such as expensive newspaper ads and grand statutes much of this was peaceful but the bombing(s) of planes and equipping of the Khmer Rouge show a much deadlier side too. In many ways this is a tragic account of a nation that was once so hopeful, rising from the ruins of the Korean War and Japanese occupation to develop a better economy and industry than it's southern rival, only to be left behind and turn to increasingly desperate and ineffectual attempts to cling onto respect and relevance.

Well worth the read and a great addition to North Korea studies, especially since it charts a very different path from the often morbidly curious studies of NKs peculiarities.

[Baglan]

fascinating

[Harry Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been longer and a bit more detailed on the nature of the military aid and trainers that the DPRK provided. The writing came off a bit stilted at times. Good otherwise.