There's no place on Earth like North Korea

It has the world's fourth-largest standing military, highly-trained special forces, chemical weapons and a nuclear arsenal. Its citizens are closed off from the rest of the world and many are hugely impoverished.

But the winds of change could be blowing. Kim Jong Un, the country's young leader, made his debut on the diplomatic stage in 2018, meeting with some of the world's most powerful leaders.

He has publicly committed his country to a path of peace and denuclearization.

Big questions remain however. Why now? What about North Korea's alleged human rights abuses? And is Kim sincere, or could the rest of the world get played?