ABSTRACT
During the last few centuries, the Kingdom of Korea could have been regarded as virtually a vassal of the Emperor of China. It had contact only with Beijing and was so isolated from other parts of the world that it came to be known as the Hermit Kingdom. Koreans were not even prepared to become involved with shipwrecked foreigners, nearly always preferring to keep them in confinement until they could be sent across the border to China. When evaluating North Korean attitudes and North Korea’s foreign policy, it is helpful if one understands that the regime in Pyongyang has still not been able to break with this tradition, but has, to a considerable degree, endeavoured to maintain its isolation from the surrounding world.
