DESC: This diplomatic history provides a behind-the-scenes account of the historic 1994 mission to North Korea undertaken by former President Jimmy Carter. President Clinton sent Carter there to defuse a growing crisis precipitated by President Kim Il Sung's announcement that North Korea was embarking on a nuclear development program. Marion Creekmore recounts the sensitive and, in her view, creative negotiations that resulted in the agreement that North Korea would cease development of weapons in return for nuclear reactors that would provide energy. Later that year, Kim Il Sung died and was replaced by Kim Jong Il, who precipitated a crisis during the administration of President George W. Bush. Bush then placed North Korea in his "axis of evil." Creekmore's reading of North Korea's intentions and capabilities, as well as her discussion of the choices of negotiation or confrontation, are uniquely informed.