Overview

North Korea has posed a threat to stability in Northeast Asia for decades. Since Kim Jong-un assumed power, this threat has both increased and broadened. Since 2011, the small, isolated nation has detonated nuclear weapons multiple times, tested a wide variety of ballistic missiles, expanded naval and ground systems that threaten South Korea, and routinely employs hostile rhetoric. Another threat it poses has been less recognized: North Korea presents a potentially greater risk to American interests by exporting its weapons systems to other volatile regions worldwide. In North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. analyzes relevant North Korean military capabilities, what arms the nation provides, and to whom, how it skirts its sanctions, and how North Korea's activities can best be contained. He traces illicit networks that lead to state and nonstate actors in the Middle East, including Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, and throughout Africa, including at least a dozen nations. The potential proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons technology and the vehicles that carry it, including ballistic missiles and artillery, represent a broader threat than the leadership in Pyongyang. Including training and infrastructure support, North Korea's profits may range into the billions of dollars, all concealed in illicit networks and front companies so complex that the nation struggles to track and control them. Bechtol not only presents an accurate picture of the current North Korean threat -- he also outlines methodologies that Washington and the international community must embrace in order to contain it.

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9780813175881

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Reviews

Bechtol's newest book expertly and clearly explains how North Korea provides nuclear, chemical, and missile technologies, and conventional weapons, as well as how it finances such dangerous transactions through complex financial networks, earning the rogue nation billions of dollars. He also details North Korea's relationships with its best customers -- Iran, Syria, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. -- Military Officers Association of America Given today's political urgency, a clear-eyed, comprehensive look at North Korea's military capabilities and its long-standing and wide-ranging proliferation couldn't be more timely and it is offered by retiredMarine, author and political science professor, Bruce Bechtol. His book uses open-source intelligence reports, defectors' testimony, field interviews and the work of fellow experts, to quantify the full extent of North Korea's military capabilities and what it will take to stop the regime's illicit activities. North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa provides a comprehensive picture of this rogue regime, the breadth of its illicit activities and its threat to global stability. -- American Thinker Observers of North Korea and other pundits have long complained about the dearth of detailed information on North Korea. While admittedly there is no great wealth of open source material on the Pyongyang regime, a substantial amount of data is available to those willing to look for it. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.'s book North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa is a strong case in point. Bechtol's sources include North Korean defectors, fellow scholars, open source intelligence reports, and field interviews conducted in the Middle East and Africa. Relying upon old-fashioned research and personal conversations, Bechtol has put together a remarkable work that brings to the fore a number of disturbing details amply illustrating that there is indeed relevant information out there -- if one makes the effort to find it. -- H-Diplo

Strong in outlining the basics of North Korean arms sales and proliferation to the Middle East and Africa, Bechtol's study is recommended for anyone seeking a better understanding of the DPRK's pernicious international role. -- Joel Campbell, International Affairs Bechtol's newest book expertly and clearly explains how North Korea provides nuclear, chemical, and missile technologies, and conventional weapons, as well as how it finances such dangerous transactions through complex financial networks, earning the rogue nation billions of dollars. He also details North Korea's relationships with its best customers -- Iran, Syria, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. -- Military Officers Association of America Given today's political urgency, a clear-eyed, comprehensive look at North Korea's military capabilities and its long-standing and wide-ranging proliferation couldn't be more timely and it is offered by retiredMarine, author and political science professor, Bruce Bechtol. His book uses open-source intelligence reports, defectors' testimony, field interviews and the work of fellow experts, to quantify the full extent of North Korea's military capabilities and what it will take to stop the regime's illicit activities. North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa provides a comprehensive picture of this rogue regime, the breadth of its illicit activities and its threat to global stability. -- American Thinker Observers of North Korea and other pundits have long complained about the dearth of detailed information on North Korea. While admittedly there is no great wealth of open source material on the Pyongyang regime, a substantial amount of data is available to those willing to look for it. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.'s book North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa is a strong case in point. Bechtol's sources include North Korean defectors, fellow scholars, open source intelligence reports, and field interviews conducted in the Middle East and Africa. Relying upon old-fashioned research and personal conversations, Bechtol has put together a remarkable work that brings to the fore a number of disturbing details amply illustrating that there is indeed relevant information out there -- if one makes the effort to find it. -- H-Diplo

Observers of North Korea and other pundits have long complained about the dearth of detailed information on North Korea. While admittedly there is no great wealth of open source material on the Pyongyang regime, a substantial amount of data is available to those willing to look for it. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.'s book North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa is a strong case in point. Bechtol's sources include North Korean defectors, fellow scholars, open source intelligence reports, and field interviews conducted in the Middle East and Africa. Relying upon old-fashioned research and personal conversations, Bechtol has put together a remarkable work that brings to the fore a number of disturbing details amply illustrating that there is indeed relevant information out there -- if one makes the effort to find it. -- H-Diplo

Author Information

Bruce E. Bechtol Jr is professor of political science at Angelo State University and a retired Marine. He is the author or editor of six previous books, including The Last Days of Kim Jong-il: The North Korean Threat in a Changing Era and Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula.

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