"Without the U.S. market, the survival of Kim Jong Il's economic policy could be in jeopardy, " says economist Yoon Duk Ryong of the Korea Economic Research Institute.

CNN: Kim Jong Il's New Direction

The building blocks of a modern economy--bridges, roads, power lines--are at about the level of South Korea a quarter century ago, according to the Construction and Economic Research Institute of South Korea.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Korea: Korea's Big Show

Perhaps she was spending too much time planning Chelsea's wedding, but Hillary Clinton's recent announcement of a strategy to institute more economic sanctions against North Korea was misguided and half-baked.

FORBES: Magazine Article