North Korea is, arguably, the last totalitarian state on earth. It still adheres to a Communist ideology that most other formal Leninist states have abandoned in practice. North Korea expert Andrei Lankov talks about the country from a historical perspective, in particular looking at how North Korea’s totalitarian system ensures that there is little opposition, not just because it cannot be organised, but because many people in the country are so shut off from the outside world that they simply don’t know how bad things are. He also explores the historical roots of Korea’s political system and its quasi-feudal nature.

Author and activist Hyeonseo Lee, who defected from North Korea, looks at the country through her own experience growing up there. She talks about the extreme poverty in the country and its lack of political and human rights, pointing out that it was really only when she left, first to China and then to South Korea, that she was able to start understanding the enormity of the country’s social and political systems.

Elsewhere Odd Arne Westad looks at the long history of Korea-China relations and argues that if you can understand them, you can better understand China’s approach to international relations more generally.

Award-winning historian Bruce Cumings talks about the misconceptions many people still hold about the Korean War (1950-1953), and how they distort our understanding of the current North Korean regime.