North Korea has always puzzled, partly because its extreme isolation means we know so little about it. Former US vice-president Walter Mondale once said that anyone claiming to be an expert on the country was either a liar or a fool. Many times, Pyongyang appears to have craved dialogue with the west, particularly Washington. Yet at the same time it has pursued policies of extreme rhetorical and even physical antagonism, such as when it tried to blow up the South Korean cabinet in Rangoon in 1983 as it was seeking talks. Its twin desires to be isolated and to be engaged has left the west baffled about how to deal with it.
朝鲜一贯令人费解，部分原因是它极度与世隔绝，我们对它知之甚少。美国前副总统沃尔特•蒙代尔(Walter Mondale)曾说，但凡有人自称为朝鲜问题专家，不是骗子就是傻瓜。平壤方面多次似乎渴望与西方对话，尤其是美国，但与此同时，它却在腔调上乃至行为上追求极端对立，例如它1983年一边寻求谈判，一边却企图在仰光炸死韩国内阁成员。它既想孤立，又想接触，令西方不知如何应对。