Passcode to the Third Floor - An Insider's Account of Life Among North Korea's Political Elite

Thae Yong-ho was a leading North Korean diplomat to the United Kingdom and Northern Europe-until his dramatic defection to South Korea in 2016. In this gripping tell-all, he reveals the inner workings of the North Korean regime and shares the story of his decision to leave.

List of contents

Acronyms
A Note on Romanization
Chronology
Preface to the English Edition
Prologue: What Will I Do Now?
Translator’s Acknowledgments
Part I. At the Heart of Pyongyang’s Leadership
1. North Korea’s Path to Nuclear Weapons
2. North Korean Diplomacy During the Arduous March
3. Saved by South Korea
4. North Korea Uses the British to Check the Americans
5. From Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un
6. On the Eve of My Defection
Part II. Emancipation
7. Studying Abroad
8. The Thaes of Myeongcheon
9. For Freedom and Unification
Epilogue
Notes

About the author

Thae Yong-ho was North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom before fleeing with his family to South Korea, making him the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat ever to defect. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly for the Gangnam district of Seoul and is the first North Korean defector to win a South Korean parliamentary seat.

Robert Lauler studied Korean at the University of Washington and Seoul National University. He currently works as English-language editor at Daily NK, an online newspaper that operates a clandestine network of sources inside North Korea.

Summary

Thae Yong-ho was a leading North Korean diplomat to the United Kingdom and Northern Europe—until his dramatic defection to South Korea in 2016. In this gripping tell-all, he reveals the inner workings of the North Korean regime and shares the story of his decision to leave.

Product details

• Authors: Thae Yong-ho
• Assisted by: Robert Lauler (Translation)
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 15.03.2024
• EAN: 9780231198868
• ISBN: 978-0-231-19886-8
• No. of pages: 464
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 35 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, Autobiography: historical, political & military, Autobiography: historical, political and military, North Korea, biography & autobiography; history; political science