Politics in Asia- China and Human Rights in North Korea Debating a “Developmental Approach” in Northeast Asia

Does China’s development-based approach to human rights offer a partial if non-ideal solution to human rights in North Korea? This book addresses this question by bringing together expertise on human rights in both North Korea and China.

By exploring the "China factor" in the North Korean human rights debate, this book evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of applying the Chinese development-based approach to human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The contributors to this book treat the relevance of the Chinese experience to the DPRK seriously and evaluate how it might apply to easing North Korean human rights issues.They engage with the debate about the relevance of the developmental or development-based approach to North Korea. In doing so, they problematise, scrutinise and contextualise the development-based approach in Northeast Asia, including China, and examine different responses to the developmental approach and the influence of domestic politics on these responses.

A valuable contribution to discussions on possible ways forward for human rights in North Korea and an insightful critique of the Northeast Asian development model more broadly.