Reddit mentions of The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future

I recommend The Impossible State. I am about halfway through it and here is what I have gotten so far.

N. Korea is in a very weak position if actual war broke out. The major reason that the U.S. and S. Korea won't attack and want to avoid an all out conflict is not because they would lose, but because thousands (possibly tens of thousands) of soldiers and civilians would die before the end.

N. Korea still has to project the image that it can inflict massive amounts of casualties in order to maintain peace. If it became obvious that N. Korea could not inflict heavy losses on the South, then neither the South nor the U.S. would listen to any of its demands.

Its far more complex than that, which is why I recommend the book.

There is also a book by Victor Cha called "The Impossible State", that suggests though US/SK forces would ultimately win out, it'd take days to neutralize NK artillery, and 4-6 months of serious fighting.

Per Wikipedia; He is a former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House's National Security Council, with responsibility for Japan, North and South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. He was George W. Bush's top advisor on North Korean affairs.

For a pretty great analysis of unification and North Korea in general, I would recommend checking out The Impossible State by Victor Cha. It's incredibly insightful and well written, plus a pretty easy read.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061998508?pc_redir=1411898711&robot_redir=1#

One of the most interesting chapters I've read from Victor Cha's book The Impossible State talked about the Rason Industrial Area and the role that the little throwaway gift of a choco pie played in screwing up one major industrial venture.

Incidentally, if you're at all interested in North Korean history, I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's incredibly broad, and written exceptionally well.