hree times more likely to be diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, and twice as likely to have Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and depression. Another puzzling findi

Through his word and his example, the DPRK offers salvation to the entire human race. For North Koreans this represents a superior nationality with a special messianic and apocalyptic mission. The Workers Party of Korea numbers 15 per cent of the total population, and administers the most thorough system of mass indoctrination to be found anywhere in the world. Juche is expressed in music, art, architecture, medicine and virtually every walk of life. Individual identity is much more thoroughly repressed than in any other communist system, but there are constant group competitions in all areas of life.

It also provides theoretical justification for maintaining the most militarised state system in the world through its priority doctrine of 'military‐first politics', the only guarantee of the 'independence' which is the very meaning of juche itself. The juche idea also provides theoretical justification for political and ideological survival after the demise of the Soviet Union, for juche doctrine purports to uphold the only true socialism, in which the people are already the collective masters and have nothing to learn from Western democracy.

Juche doctrine represents the ultimate deification of human beings, and, technically, may be said to be a form of 'transcendental atheism'

Juche ideology stresses the importance of consciousness, creativity and self‐determination. Consciousness relies on 'brain', 'spirit', will power and learning the right knowledge, which inevitably leads to collectivism. Creativity, moreover, leads inevitably to change and higher goals, which are transcendental

Juche means 'self‐reliance' or 'independence', and in its earliest form was announced by Kim Il‐Sung in December 1955. It was originally used to buttress the political and ideological independence of North Korea from the Soviet Union, but gradually developed to replace Marxism‐Leninism itself. 'The North Korean Constitution of 1998 under Kim Jong‐Il does not mention anything about Marxism and Leninism', but simply states that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is officially guided by the juche idea

nd its juche cult. Like Communist China, the North Korean regime strongly emphasises nationalism. Korean culture was traditionally very Confucianist, and prior to communism Korean society was also more responsive to Christianity than any other in Asia. In a manner different to Imperial Japan, North Korea has developed its own form of post‐Confucianist 'family state', with the leader the divine (or in the Korean case, superhuman) head of a tightly identified 'family nation', for whom he is the centre of a cult that offers collective transcendence.

The former Clinton administration official unveils progress that North Korea has made on four parallel nuclear and missile initiatives that could soon amount to a survivable, strategic nuclear capability. As a result, it is time for the United States to state unambiguously that it will impose secondary sanctions and resort to pre-emptive military action if Pyongyang performs additional nuclear or missile tests or deploys certain new and threatening military systems.

d States and its allies must be ready to send a firm and resolute message that they will not permit the DPRK to gain the capacity to threaten, much less carry out, mass casualty attacks using nuclear weapons or to transfer nuclear and/or missile technology to third countries or non-state actors, as it has done on a number of previous occasions

The United States can no longer afford to ignore the potentially enhanced DPRK security threat.

Yet, it is apparent that North Korea is moving ahead as fast as its constrained financial resources and technical know-how permit in order to deploy a limited strategic nuclear deterrent. At the same time, as of this writing, the North has not conducted a long-threatened fourth nuclear test, nor has it tested a n