'This is a valuable book. Jerome Sauvage does not recycle the usual stale information on North Korea but offers fresh ground truth, with eye-witness accounts of key meetings, of the mourning for Kim Jong Il, of the complexities of dealing with North Koreans, and of myriad details of everyday life.'

John Everard, Former Ambassador of the United Kingdom to North Korea, UK

''Sauvage has produced a wonderful book. It is rich in detail and nuance, highly supportive of the North Korean people and their daily struggles, but which pulls no punches regarding the political realities of the country. Both fascinating and accessible, but also poignant, this book is well worth a read for the general reader interested to learn more about life in the North and the analyst looking to see the country from a new angle.

Peter Ward, Sejong Institute, Republic of Korea

'In a first-hand personal memoir of his on-the-ground experience as an international civil servant heading the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Pyongyang between 2009-2013, Jerome Sauvage describes in vividly personal terms the striking on-the-ground physical, bureaucratic, and moral hazards, contradictions and frustrations inherent in the UNDP's efforts to bridge the gaps between the Kim family-led North Korean nuclear dictatorship and the rest of the world.'

Scott Snyder, Korea Economic Institute of America, USA

'As the lead UN official in Pyongyang, Jerome Sauvage had a front-row seat to a transition in leadership that had a profound impact on the lives of the North Koreans around him. He recounts those years with sensitivity and attentiveness, providing a candid and engaging account of what it was like to live and work in the most closed country in the world during a singular period in North Korean history.'

Jean Lee, Former Associated Press's Pyongyang Bureau Chief, USA

'Honest, fly-on-the wall exposés of North Korea are extremely scant. Jerome Sauvage has exploited his decades of field experience, keen insight, and precious vantage point as a UN development officer there for over three years to lift the veil on raw life at ground level, as well as the regime's character and complexity and ultimately its unreformability. Sauvage is sensitive to the suffering and unfulfilled hopes of the North Korean people and depicts them with great clarity, empathy, and objectivity. This book is a rare gem and must-read for anybody seeking to understand this nation.'

Peter Humphrey, Associate in Research at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, USA