From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Inside the Hermit Kingdom, eyewitness views from North Korea.

I'm Todd Purdom, sitting in for Warren Alney, and this is To the Point.

It's the most isolated nation in the modern world, a closed society, a place where teenagers

have never heard of Beyonce, and Facebook is just a mysterious word.

North Korea is also a parallel universe, in which the United States is an evil empire bet on

destruction, and patriotic North Koreans take it for granted that they would crush America

in a nuclear war.

As Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un escalate their war of words, we'll hear from journalists who've had rare access to Pyongyang.

How worried should we be? Later on today's talking point, we'll take a look at a little-known phenomenon,

newer Confederate monuments, built in recent years to memorialize the Old South's

lost cause. First, here's the news.

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Go to KCRW.com slash News24 or members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

I'm Todd Purdom in for Warren Olney, back with To the Point.

In a moment, we'll get a rare first-hand look inside North Korea, the most isolated nation in the modern world.

Is it the flashpoint of a new Cold War that might turn hot. Then, on today's talking point, we'll focus on a newer battlefront

in the fight over Confederate history, recently built monuments that honor the southern side

in the war between the states. First, this news update, a fresh development in Spain's fight

with Catalonia over separatism. The Spanish Prime

Minister, Mariana Rojoi, today took the first tentative step toward imposing administrative

...