The structure and function of the North Korean state
How totalitarian control operates across generations
The role of information suppression, surveillance, and punishment
Documented categories of human rights violations
Why international law and accountability mechanisms struggle with closed regimes

Analyze patterns of control rather than isolated abuses
Evaluate the reliability and limits of sources such as defector testimony and NGOs
Compare North Korea to earlier cases in the course
Examine tradeoffs between intervention, deterrence, and escalation
Interrogate what “responsibility” realistically looks like in this context

Written analysis connecting North Korea to broader warning signs
Application of course frameworks to a living case
Assessment showing understanding of systems, not shock value