Fear and Loathing in North Korea The riddle of North Korea is easier to understand if you study not just the country’s missiles, but its history. Intercept columnist Mehdi Hasan writes that the oft-forgotten fact of massive U.S. bombing of North Korean civilians in the Korean War helps explain its hostility toward the United States. North Korea is led by Kim Jong-un, whose propaganda uses the specter of American menace to bolster his dictatorship. Reporter Mattathias Schwartz reports that Kim’s aim of instilling global fear gets an unexpected helping hand from President Donald Trump, whose political standing is also bolstered by exaggerating the threat of a nuclear attack from Pyongyang. Peter Maass Senior Editor

Why Do North Koreans Hate Us? One Reason — They Remember the Korean War. Mehdi Hasan Americans may not remember the devastating impact of U.S. bombing raids on civilian targets, but North Koreans cannot forget it.                           North Korea Wants to Convince the World It Can Nuke Hawaii. Donald Trump Is Happy to Oblige. Mattathias Schwartz The Trump administration’s rhetoric suggests North Korea is on the verge of striking the United States. In fact, its long-range missile tests keep failing