Book excerpt: This book presents a comprehensive overview of international attempts to engage North Korea diplomatically with the aim of avoiding a nuclear war. It highlights the difficulty of this task, concluding that the containment of North Korea currently depends more on military deterrence than on diplomatic restraint. It considers the various multilateral attempts at diplomatic engagement over recent decades and explores the different approaches of different countries, examining the domestic factors and the strategic interests which drive different countries’ different approaches. It includes an account of China’s growing estrangement, Russia’s increasing closeness, and the surprising relationship between North Korea and Sweden which has been effective in providing the North Korean people with humanitarian aid. Revealing the story of diplomatic frustrations and failures when engaging North Korea, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Korean studies, Asian politics, and international relations.