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.

Baogang He is Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Alfred Deakin Professor, Chair in International Relations, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts & Education, Deakin University. He graduated with a PhD in Political Science from the Australian National University in 1994. Professor He has become widely known for his work in Chinese democratisation and politics, in particular, the deliberative politics in China as well as in Asian politics covering Asian regionalism, Asian federalism and Asian multiculturalism. His publications are found in top journals, including Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Peace Research, Political Theory, Political Studies and Perspectives on Politics.David Hundt is Associate Professor of International Relations at Deakin University. His research has a regional focus on the Indo-Pacific, especially South Korea and Australia, and he has explored economic development, foreign policy, immigration and inter-state relations in the region. He has published 3 books, 24 peer-reviewed journal articles and 12 book chapters. The quality of his research has been recognised in the form of awards, prizes and grants. He also has extensive experience in editing academic journals. He has been Editor-in-Chief of Asian Studies Review since 2018.Chengxin Pan is Associate Professor of International Relations at Deakin University and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. He is a co-editor of the Global Political Sociology book series . His book Knowledge, Desire and Power in Global Politics: Western Representations of China's Rise (2012) was translated and published in Chinese by the Social Sciences Academic Press (SSAP) and won an SSAP Best Book Award in 2017. His latest publications have appeared in European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies, Critical Studies on Security and Millennium: Journal of International Studies.