Abstract:

Meet Kim Jong II, leader of North Korea – a nation imprisoned by poverty and with a population so hungry, people eat bugs and grass. Now this megalomaniacal dictator is holding the civilized world hostage with what many see as a cunning strategy of extortion, threatening to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It's a strategy by which the United States has indicated it cannot abide. Go behind the headlines to discover the little-understood origins and almost-stranger-than-truth facets of this dangerous confrontation. See a side of Kim Jong Il rarely revealed – his love of slasher flicks and his affinity for prostitutes – and learn why the United States may have no other palatable option than to play ball with Kim, allowing him to continue his weapons development program. It's quite literally a race against time – if North Korea, as it promises, goes into nuclear production mode, giving Kim as many as 10 nuclear bombs within six months, it would create a destabilizing offensive nuclear capability that could touch off a regional arms race...and even nuclear war. It's a game of international intrigue and high-stakes military strategy. But more importantly, it's the story of destitute North Korea and its bizarre leader, and how he has brought the U.S. and the world face-to-face with the unimaginable.