Magazine Publishers of America cover awards, third place 2006: best cover:

This cover appeared in the week following North Koreas decision to launch a Taepodong rocket (which fizzled) and half a dozen others (which worked). The launch, noted The Economist, was calculated to blast a hole in the diplomatic effort by America, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia to get Kim Jong-ils regime to give up its nuclear bomb-building. The Economist worried that Kim Jong-ils pyrotechnics would incinerate wider efforts to stabilize a region full of dangerous rivalries. The cover captured the moment by picturing the elusive North Korean leader as dangerous Rocket man. Though considered a serious magazine, the cover demonstrates The Economists often irreverent take on the worlds events.