Acquiring reliable, firsthand information about North Korea is difficult. For one thing, opportunities to visit the country are rare. Though tourists are admitted, mainly for the hard currency they bring, they are required to travel in supervised groups. These are tightly scripted affairs with little opportunity for impromptu dialogue with locals. As for journalists, missionaries, think tank analysts and other inquisitive types, they are largely kept at bay.
Then there is the country’s notorious penchant for theatrics and hyperbole. Think of its military parades, with its thousands of goose-stepping soldiers, or of its bombastic rants against the United States and other “imperialist” enemies — is this for show, or is this strength? Stories of disgraced officials dispatched in gruesome fashion, some allegedly by artillery gunfire, are also common, if not always true. All this makes it easy to dismiss North Korea as a bit of a farce.