The Sister

Among the most insightful and prescient chroniclers * The Guardian *
Riveting, unique, policy-relevant narrative of the first order. A must-read for all policymakers. Lee sees through the North Korean regime’s antics, maskirovka, and propaganda – much of it the work of Kim Yo Jong – as does no other. A work of penetrating analysis, caustic wit, and elegant prose – James Stavridis, PhD., Admiral in US Navy (Retired), and former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO
In The Sister, Sung-Yoon Lee offers a trenchant analysis of the Kim Jong Un regime and his sister’s role in propagating their cult of personality. He employs his deep knowledge of the subject and his fine literary skills to tell a tale that is both fascinating and disturbing. The Sister is a gripping story of great policy relevance – Dr Sue Mi Terry, Director of the Asia Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
As a former top North Korea official in charge of the supreme leader’s slush funds, I have intimate knowledge of the corrupt and very opaque workings of the Kim dynasty. The Sister is revelatory. It is a most rare and enlightening analysis of the Kim regime’s deceptions and perversions, and Kim Yo Jong’s role in this existential game. Current and future policymakers will find this book a treasure trove, an essential guidebook on policy-relevant history, mistaken assumptions of the past, and lessons for the future. The Sister is a most astute, acerbic, and, at times, even amusing exposé of the pathological ways of the North Korean dynasty – Ri Jong Ho, former Chairman of the Korea Kum-Kang Economic Development Group (KKG) of the National Defense Commission, DPRK
Dr Lee deftly skewers the misperceptions of Kim Yo Jong to insightfully assess her longstanding and powerful role. Comprehensive, provocative, and eloquently written. Should be required reading for policymakers and pundits trying to decipher the North Korean Game of Thrones – Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation
Dr Lee was instrumental in our lawsuit against North Korea for the kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial killing of our son, Otto. During the trial in a federal court in DC, the entire courtroom and the press were mesmerized by his deep knowledge of the concentration camp known as North Korea. Dr. Lee is able to explain North Korea’s behaviour in a way that compels action. Now, he has put his impressive skills to weave a gripping tale on the inner workings of the criminal organization known as North Korea and the sister’s sinister role in this scheme – Fred and Cindy Warmbier, plaintiffs in Warmbier v. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2018)

Sung-Yoon Lee is a scholar of Korean and East Asian studies and a specialist on North Korea. He is the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies and Assistant Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Faculty Associate at the Program on US-Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. Dr Lee has advised senior-most officials in the US government and is an outspoken proponent of several policies aimed at changing the North Korean regime towards a path of denuclearization and improvement of human rights, while keeping the peace and stability in northeast Asia. In 2013, the Guardian called Lee ‘[a]mong the most insightful and prescient chroniclers’. The Sister is his first book.

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