In the last two decades the West has learned only too well that dealing with North Korea is no trifle. But 2012 could be the year for a crucial divide; it marks not only the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, but also the 20th anniversary of the first joint North-South declaration on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two events seem somehow in contrast since Pyongyang preannounced in mid-March the launch of a satellite next month to commemorate the founder of the ruling communist dynasty, the grandfather of the newly enthroned Kim Jong Un.