Introduction

Abstract

Abstract The introductory chapter presents an overview of this book’s overarching argument and context. In so doing, it outlines the fundamental rationale, puzzle, and case study – namely, North Korea – underpinning this book. This chapter emphasises the starting point for this book, with respect to how the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the state that has been so often nicknamed the “hermit kingdom”, has, in fact, acquired the status of a nuclear-armed state, in all but name. At the same time, North Korea has obtained a notorious global reputation as the poster-child of delinquent behaviour in international relations. The chapter summarises the main argument of the book, vis-à-vis how North Korea has been able to reap rewards from deploying delinquent behaviour in relation to the global nuclear order. The concepts of the global nuclear order; status in international relations; and the original theoretical framework of “strategic delinquency” are subsequently introduced, the latter which forms the core of this book’s argument and analysis. Finally, this chapter offers an outline of subsequent chapters, which highlight how North Korea’s world view and its engagement with the global nuclear order and wider international order have evolved with time.