Two trends represent Korea today: South Korea's extraordinary economic boom and North Korea's stagnation and provocation.

Is it too late to convince North Korea and Iran to dismantle their nuclear programs?

By exposing them to the truth about their impoverishment and about the prosperity of their South Korean cousins, the United States can encourage North Koreans to change the regime in Pyongyang.

Financial sanctions have become a key tool of U.S. foreign policy. Measures taken against Iran and North Korea make clear that this new financial statecraft can be effective, but true success will require persuading global banks to accept a shared sense of risk.

Why North Korea will not change.

The outcome of the North Korean nuclear saga has been held up as an example of the Bush administration defying its bellicose reputation and using multilateralism and diplomacy to defuse a crisis. But in fact, the story is one of extremely poor policymaking and a persistent failure to devise a coherent strategy -- with the result that North Korea has managed to dramatically expand its nuclear capability.

This module features teaching notes by CFR Senior Fellow and Director of CFR's Center for Preventative Action Paul B. Stares, coauthor of Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea, along with other resources to supplement the text. This Council Special Report addresses the foreign policy challenge of how the United States and its allies can prepare for the possibility of sudden and destabilizing change in North Korea.

Even if a U.S. assessment of North Korea's food situation echoes a UN report earlier this year that warned of shortages, debate rages about whether new food aid should be provided to a recalcitrant Pyongyang.

A meeting of North Korean officials is expected to signal succession to Kim Jong-Il. Experts say the power transition is unlikely to herald reforms, and urge efforts to engage with the regime.

Korean Peninsula tensions are high, in part fueled by U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. Experts say the United States must continue to work toward North Korea's denuclearization and prepare for volatility with a leadership change in Pyongyang.

North Korea has resisted efforts to divulge the full scale of its nuclear program, despite U.S. concessions, but President-elect Barack Obama faces little alternative to the troubled policy of engagement.

The latest declaration from North Korea has brought rewards from Washington but experts say bigger challenges lie ahead.

Washington’s latest revisions to its stance on North Korea nuclear-disarmament talks, experts say, threatens to undermine counter-proliferation efforts.

A conservative parliament may provide further impetus to South Korean president to maintain a harder line on Pyongyang.

North Korea’s missed deadline on its denuclearization pact and new tough rhetoric revive concerns about the regime’s sincerity and stability.

The conservative front-runner won South Korea’s December 19 elections. His policies could test relations with North Korea.

A mysterious Israeli air raid in Syria has led to speculation that North Korea is outfitting Damascus with nuclear material.

North Korea misses a critical New Year's deadline to reveal data on its nuclear weapons arsenal, imperiling the latest "breakthrough'" with Washington.