North Korea's launch of a long range missile this past weekend — its sixth — has once again thrust the country into the world's headlines.

No matter who wins the election, the next U.S. president is going to be faced with a North Korea problem that's become quite different from that which faced previous presidents. The United States can't afford to get the Korean Peninsula wrong, and policies that may have historically worked (or at least been acceptable) may prove inadequate going forward.

The perspective offered below challenges many (but not all) of the old images and preconceptions we have about North Korea and how to deal with the Kim Jong Un regime. These should become the new baseline for future North Korea policy.