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Photo:   Dr Norbert Vollertsen is a German physician and human rights activist who practiced medicine in North Korea from 1999 to 2001 with the Cap Anamur Committee, a non-governmental cooperation organization.  In August 1999, he and Francois Large, another aid worker, donated their skin to Pak Jong Thae, a tractor factory worker in Haeju (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haeju) , South Hwanghae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Hwanghae_Province) , who had suffered burns over three-quarters of his body and underwent three skin grafting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_grafting) operations. In recognition of his contribution, Vollertsen received the official Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Friendship Medal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Friendship_2nd_Class) for his humanitarian assistance later that same month, in a ceremony attended by Supreme People's Assembly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_People%27s_Assembly) vice-president Yang Hyong Sop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Hyong_Sop) . He was also given a pass that allowed him to travel through the country freely, which was very unusual—almost unique—for a foreigner.        As he traveled in his capacity as an emergency physician, tending to the illnesses and injuries of common North Koreans in the countryside, he struggled with a nearly non-existent healthcare system, abject poverty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_North_Korea) and growing proof of a network of political prisons in North Korea that enforced the flow of wealth from the citizenry to the Pyongyang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang) -based Korean People's Army (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military) and the Workers' Party of Korea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Party_of_Korea) which was then headed by Kim Jong-il (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il) . Using smuggled cameras, he obtained photos and films of flagrant, large-scale human rights violations in North Korea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_North_Korea) . In particular, mass starvation was used as a tool of political control. He began collecting evidence of abuses, which he passed to a visiting United States Congress (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress) man, an act for which he was put under surveillance. Despite this Vollertsen continued to speak out against the North Korean government, which soon lost patience and forced him to leave North Korea in January 2001. Soon after returning home, he gave an interview about his experiences in North Korea, which the North Korean government denounced. He now is followed worldwide by DPRK security, who have made clear that they intend to kill him. He usually stays no more than one night in any abode; is basically on the run. Has sworn to spend the rest of his life publicizing the terrifying nature of the North Korean regime. Here: in the early 2000s, on one of his rare visits to New York, near the UN.   http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules Parler & Twitter: @BatchelorShow The Last Days of Kim Jong-il: 4of4:  Kindle Edition. by Bruce Bechtol (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Bruce+Bechtol&text=Bruce+Bechtol&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text) (Author)  Format: Kindle Edition https://www.amazon.com/Last-Days-Kim-Jong-ebook/dp/B00DIFHVMY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+last+days+of+kim+jong+il&qid=1609716563&s=digital-text&sr=1-1 North Korea has remained a thorn in the side of the United States ever since its creation in the aftermath of the Korean conflict of 1950û1953. Crafting a foreign policy that effectively deals with North Korea, while still ensuring stability and security on the Korean Peninsulaùand in Northeast Asia as a wholeùhas proved very challenging for successive American administrations. In the wake of ruler Kim Jong-ilÆs death in December 2011, analysts and policymakers continue to speculate about the effect his last years as leader will have on the future of North Korea. Bruce Bechtol, Jr. contends that Kim Jong-ilÆs regime (1994û2011) exacerbated the threats that North Korea posed, and still poses, to the world. Bechtol explains how North Korea presents important challenges on five key fronts: its evolving conventional military threat, its strategy in the Northern Limit Line (NLL) area, its nuclear capabilities, its support for terrorism, and its handling of the succession process. BechtolÆs analysis clears up the persistent mystery of how Kim Jong-ilÆs dysfunctional government in its final years was able to persist in power while both presenting a grave danger to its neighbors and setting the stage for the current government. This work addresses issues important for policymakers and academics who must deal with those in power in North Korea.