Kim Jong-IL: North Korea's Dear Leader

Kim Jong-il: North Korea?s Dear Leader is a fascinating tour through the tortured history of North Korea and the mind of Kim Jong-il. A must read for all those trying to understand what is happening in the hermit kingdom and what is now one of the most unstable places on earth. The potential for a miscalculation is breathtaking in its dangers to us all."
?Mike Moore, Former Director-General of WTO and former Prime Minister of New Zealand

"In Kim Jong Il: North Korea's Dear Leader, Michael Breen provides what much of the world has been waiting for: an in-depth look at the dark and secret Korea of Kim Jong-Il. His insights are revelatory, sophisticated, and plainly communicated. A testament to its accuracy, I doubt the book will see the light of day inside North Korea."
?Dan Briody, Author of bestseller, The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group

"Michael Breen's portrait of Kim Jong-il is a compelling psychoanalysis of the world's last Stalinist dictator. The book explains how Kim manages to maintain an iron grip over his poverty-stricken country while holding the world's only superpower to ransom with weapons of mass destruction. In parts the book reads like a black comedy, so bizarre is the regime it describes. Breen combines his eye for farce with a keen sensitivity to the plight of North Korea's 22 million oppressed and starving people. But he makes clear it is too simplistic to dismiss Kim as an evil madman. Breen shows how North Korea is an accident of history, trapped in a Cold War time warp from which Kim is unable to escape. A lively and accessible read."
'Andrew Ward, Korea correspondent, Financial Times

"One can be free to hate him but we must also learn more of the "Fat Bastard" for he is unlikely to disappear however we wish him to. Michael Breen has written an extremely timely, readable and well researched book to tell us who Kim Jong-il is and how best to deal with him."
?Tomohiko Taniguchi, Editor-at-Large, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.

Kim Jong-il has been the subject of intense interest and fear in recent months. He has been demonised as 'Dr Evil' for his nuclear programme which puts Korea on a collision course with the US. For this reason, the world has a stake in understanding this man and his little-known country. This account aims to tell the compelling story of Kim Jong-il and the country he leads, exploring the pressing question of how he manages to hold onto power in a country that is ravaged by famine and poverty. Unravelling the myths, mysteries, and fallacies that surround this small, desperate country, this fascinating story includes rare photos of Kim Jong-il and his brutal regime.

Michael Breen is a writer and communications consultant based in Seoul. He first went to South Korea as a journalist. He covered both North and South Korea for several newspapers before giving up journalism to pursue a fascination with North Korea. He became a management consultant advising companies on dealing with the communist state.