
Some years ago, I spoke with a former Soviet official who had worked in North Korea. He said that you could try to direct, cajole, or nudge the leadership to do something that, to a foreigner, looked to be in their best interests. They would smile, seem to nod assent, or might even say yes, then do the opposite—even when it directly contradicted their presumed interests. You can call it bloody-minded, self-centered, even pig-headed; they don’t care. But this dogged insistence on going their own way is as much a part of North Korea’s historic behavior pattern as it is a palpable obstacle to international cooperation—even with North Korea’s close allies.
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