Part 6 of 6 in our Inside the Hermit Kingdom series on the people and culture of North Korea. Worldfocus multimedia producer Ben Piven writes about the stark contrast between the stagnant North Korean economy and the booming economies of China and South Korea to the north and south.

Part 5 of 6 in our "Inside the Hermit Kingdom" series on the people and culture of North Korea. Multimedia producer Ben Piven's video chronicles his five-day trip in August. Watch original footage of the Pyongyang Metro, rural countryside, Demilitarized Zone and everyday North Koreans.

Part 3 of 6 in our series on the people and culture of North Korea. Worldfocus multimedia producer Ben Piven writes about his encounter with North Korean Major Im Dong-chul while on the northern side of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry has requested funds to beef up its resettlement facilities for defectors from the North -- as the number of refugees arriving from its destitute neighbor keeps climbing. A Worldfocus contributing blogger discusses the chronic unemployment among 16,000 North Koreans now living in the South.

China has a close trading relationship with Iran, and its support will be key in any effort to impose new sanctions against the country. John Delury of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations discusses China's willingness -- or lack thereof -- to go along with sanctions.