North Korea's Nuke

On October 9, 2006, North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb at an underground test site around Kilchu, near the nation's northeast coast. Countries of the world immediately denounced the test, and the U.N. Security Council convened to discuss a response.

Meanwhile, we quickly went to work on North Korea, putting together a by-the-numbers overview of the place and a guide to good North Korea resources on the web.

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North Korea's "Juche"

We hit the history books, too. North Korea was born in the wake of World War II. As defeated Japanese occupiers left the Korean peninsula, Soviet forces took charge in the north, while U.S. forces took charge in the south. War followed, claiming the lives of 3 million Koreans on both sides.

Practically ever since, North Korea has officially pursued a policy of juche (pronounced "joo-chay"), or self-reliance: "autonomy in ideology, independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy, and self-reliance in defense." Here's the story of North Korea--and its juche--at lightning speed.

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How North Korea Went Nuclear

It's official. Tests confirm that North Korea has the Bomb. How'd we get to this point? North Korea has been tweaking the world's nose since the 1980s, when it signed the Nuclear Nonproliferaton Treaty even while it gathered nuclear know-how at Yongbyon. Here's a timeline of North Korea's nuclear program--from 1985 to the ominous breakthrough boom.

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Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear War

Albert Einstein once said, "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." The world has never seen a more horrible weapon than those powered by nuclear energy. Here's our look at how nuclear weapons are made, and the terrible damage they can do.

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Mongols, Mings, Manchus, Mao

Everyone knows that China is key to changing North Korea. China is pretty much North Korea's only ally, and it favors "talk" over "punitive sanctions" for Pyongyang. But this time, China really does seem annoyed. It has demanded that North Korea "undertake its commitments to the non-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

So, ready to take a slow boat to today's Beijing, where--unlike today's Pyongyang--BMWs share streets with bicycles and Stalinist slogans sit by Starbucks? To ask how Beijing got to this point, between a desperately poor North Korea and the West? It all started 40 centuries ago. . . .

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Interview
Confucius Says

With North Korea and China at the top of international news, we've been thinking a lot about the Far East. So we decided to interview the Far East's most famous man: the great Confucius. Yes, we know he's dead. But no deader than John Stuart Mill, whom we interviewed a few weeks ago to shed light on free speech.

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--Michael Himick and Steve Sampson