North Korea News Podcast

North Korean trade with its top economic partner China rebounded in March to nearly $160 million, in the latest sign of strength in bilateral exchange. NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss what we can learn from China’s officials trade data, as well as Moscow’s plan to send some 40 zoo animals to Pyongyang.

Then, Sojin Lim at the University of Central Lancashire discusses sustainable development in North Korea and why the DPRK complies with some international norms while shunning others.

Dr. Sojin Lim is a reader in Asia Pacific studies with special reference to Korea at the University of Central Lancashire. She leads the MA North Korean Studies course and is co-director of the International Institute of Korean Studies at the university’s School of Psychology and Humanities. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led a salvo missile launch to test the country’s “Nuclear Trigger’ system” for the first time this week. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill (@alannahmhill) sits down in the studio to discuss the test, as well as the release of a new song praising the country’s “friendly father” and allegations that DPRK animators may have had a hand in a popular Amazon Prime show.

Then, North Korea analyst Jacob Bogle joins the podcast to discuss his work on the AccessDPRK blog, which maps the DPRK using open-source satellite imagery. He explains how he aims to focus on areas that other analysts overlook and uncover trends that can reveal more about the lives of everyday North Koreans.

Bogle also talks about some of his most exciting finds and how he turns imagery into a narrative for stories on NK Pro, including on North Korea’s expansion of its coastal fencing and a fence being built around Pyongyang. 

Jacob Bogle (@JacobBogle) has been a North Korea analyst since 2013 and runs the AccessDPRK blog. He is also a certified architectural drafter and pharmacy technician. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

With the end of the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea fast approaching, NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) sits down in the studio to discuss the pros and cons of four alternative ways that like-minded countries could continue to monitor enforcement of the DPRK sanctions regime.

Then, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Trimble joins the podcast to discuss his time negotiating with North Koreans at Panmunjom in a bid to regularize general meetings, as well as his role in the establishment of a General Officer crisis management dialogue channel with the DPRK. 

Trimble first came to the peninsula as part of the U.S. Forces Korea in the early 1990s before being assigned to the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission in 1997.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Koreans head to the polls on April 10 to cast their votes in the general election to choose their next legislators. The NK News team sits down in the studio to discuss what impact, if any, North Korea has played in the campaigns of those vying for a seat in the National Assembly.

They also talk about a recent incident involving a South Korean YouTuber called a “puppet” by a waitress at a North Korean restaurant in China, why the ROK military has installed rotary cannons and other weapons on some of Seoul’s tallest buildings and other top stories from the last month.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)
News Trainee Lina Park (@linaprk)
News Trainee Joon Ha Park (@joonhawrites) 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Russia controversially vetoed a resolution to maintain the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea last week. NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) and news trainee Joe Smith (@nkjoesmith) sit down in the studio to discuss what’s next for the key institution monitoring the DPRK sanctions regime, as well as North Korea’s curious censoring of a British gardening legend’s jeans and its last minute decision to cancel a World Cup qualifier against Japan.

Then, Emil Boivin of the North Korean Archives and Library (NKAAL) joins the podcast to talk about the project to archive as much DPRK media as possible and make it more accessible. He also discusses how the volatility of North Korean media leads to difficulties in archiving cultural materials that can disappear at any time.

Based in Canada, Emil Boivin first became interested in North Korean media after screening DPRK films during his time at university. He collects DPRK books, DVDs and other media and was first tasked with filing and data storage for NKAAL (@NorthNKAAL) when it was created in 2020. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea continues to process cargo through a border disinfection facility established during the pandemic despite taking steps to ease COVID-19 controls, according to NK Pro analysis. NK News senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to talk about why the DPRK leadership may be using the center to search for politically sensitive goods, as well as leader Kim Jong Un’s appearances at recent military drills, North Korea’s deployment of a new naval vessel and more.

Then, Geoff White of “The Lazarus Heist” podcast returns to discuss his new book Rinsed about how the tech industry helps launder money for criminals — including North Korean hackers. He explores how the DPRK has worked with shady partners found on the dark web and even a Nigerian influencer to clean up its dirty money, how cryptocurrency theft has supercharged its cyber operations and how the U.S. government has struggled to clamp down on the DPRK’s use of crypto mixers.

Geoff White (@geoffwhite247) is an investigative journalist covering technology and organized crime who has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 News, The Sunday Times and other outlets. He is the author of “The Lazarus Heist” about the DPRK’s cybercrime syndicates, and his new book Rinsed on technology and money laundering will be published in June.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The U.S. and South Korea wrapped up large-scale springtime military drills last week, but not without a response from the DPRK. NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts (@BryanBetts21) sits down to discuss North Korea’s recent rocket salvo, as well as why state propaganda is keen to show leader Kim Jong Un is not just focused on the military.

Then, scholar Sheena Chestnut Greitens joins the podcast to talk about the politics of the North Korean diaspora and defectors’ outsized influence on international policy toward the DPRK.

Chestnut Greitens discusses her research on North Korean communities in not only South Korea but also countries like the U.S. and the U.K., and how defectors who grew up in one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian dictatorships navigate the rights of citizenship in democratic states.

She also explores how the North Korean state attempts to control the diaspora by preventing people from leaving and dissuading those who have from engaging in political activities.

Sheena Chestnut Greitens (@SheenaGreitens) is director of the Asia Policy Program at the University of Texas-Austin, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment and a visiting professor at the U.S. Army War College. Her latest book is “Politics of the North Korean Diaspora.”

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The U.S. and South Korea launched large-scale springtime military exercises to practice “neutralizing” North Korean nuclear threats this month. Pyongyang has called the Freedom Shieldexercises between the allies “frantic war drills,” warning that Washington and Seoul will pay a “dear price.” 

The NK News team sits down in the studio to discuss the annual exercises and Pyongyang's response, as well as the status of North Korea’s social media accounts after it overhauled its inter-Korean policy and Seoul’s decision to dissolve a division responsible for negotiating peace and denuclearization with the DPRK.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

NK News Founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl)
Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim)
Seoul Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea marked the fifth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un’s trip to Vietnam by highlighting relations between Pyongyang and Hanoi, while making no mention of Kim’s failed summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump during the same visit.

NK News news trainee Joe Smith (@nkjoesmith) discusses the snub, the DPRK’s failure to pay its contribution to the U.N. budget and more. 

Then, Frode Mauring (@Frode_Mauring), the former U.N. resident coordinator to the DPRK, joins the podcast to discuss his brief time in North Korea before the country shuttered its borders in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. 

He describes how his role took on a new form as he worked from Bangkok, engaging North Korean diplomats stationed in Thailand and Pyongyang’s prioritization of certain goods after imposing border controls. Mauring also talks about his newly appointed successor and what challenges he may face going forward. 

Frode Mauring is a Norwegian national who has worked with the U.N. since 2002. He previously served as the U.N. resident coordinator to the Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Kosovo and the United Arab Emirates. Before joining the U.N., he worked for almost 20 years in the private sector in banking and consulting.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

A German delegation traveled to North Korea this week to inspect the condition of the country’s embassy in Pyongyang, in what appears to be the first visit by European staff in some four years. 

NK News Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) discusses what this could mean for a broader DPRK border reopening and the return of international aid agencies, as well as the five-year anniversary of the failed Hanoi Summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Then, Professor Ruediger Frank joins the podcast to talk about how the DPRK has reassessed risk amid the emergence of a “new Cold War” and how this has driven its recent closure of embassies in several countries. He also discusses Pyongyang’s relationship with Beijing and Moscow and why he believes Kim Jong Un has not actually given up on reunification despite the DPRK’s recent revision of its inter-Korean policy.

Dr. Ruediger Frank (@Ruediger Frank) is a professor of East Asian economy and society at the University of Vienna, where he heads the Department of East Asian Studies. He spent one semester as a language student at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang in 1991/1992. He holds a master’s degree in Korean studies and international relations and a Ph.D. in economics.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korea’s leader, raised the possibility of engagement between Pyongyang and Tokyo last week but caveated that this is her “personal” view.

NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) dissects Kim Yo Jong’s statement, as well as a proposal from South Korea’s unification ministry to take DNA samples from suspected North Koreans who wash up dead on ROK shores to identify them in the future.

Then, researcher and NK Pro contributor Martin Weiser sits down in the studio to discuss North Korea’s new line on reunification, election reform in the DPRK and what state media’s portrayal of Kim Jong Un’s daughter could mean for her future.

He also talks about the difficult process of tracking the North Korean leadership and how changes in officials’ ranks can provide clues about how the regime works.

Martin Weiser (@NKResearcher) received his master's degree from Korea University in 2014 with a thesis on North Korea’s changing human rights policy. He has since continued researching DPRK political history, and his writing has appeared in SinoNK, the European Journal of Korean Studies and NK Pro.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The first group of tourists to visit North Korea since before the COVID-19 pandemic returned home to Russia this week after a 4-day trip to Pyongyang and the Masikryong Ski Resort.

NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin discusses plans for more groups of Russian nationals to visit the DPRK next month, the experiences of one man who spent time at a North Korean summer camp on two separate occasions, as well as a state media report stating Pyongyang tested a new “controlled rocket artillery shell and ballistic control system” last week.

Then, Senior Fellow for Korean Studies and Chief Executive Office at the Korea Economic Institute of America Scott Snyder joins the podcast to discuss his role writing about North and South Korea’s foreign policies to provide context for media and analyze and assess current issues.

He also talks about his latest book, “The United States–South Korea Alliance: Why It May Fail and Why It Must Not,” and areas where Washington and Seoul can work together outside defense, such as technology development, global public health, and space cooperation. 

Scott Snyder (@snydersas) is set to become the new president and chief executive officer of the Korea Economic Institute of America next month. He has served as the Senior Fellow for Korea Studies at the Korea Economic Institute of America for over a decade and was previously a senior associate in the international relations program of the Asia Foundation.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Korea and Russia have gone back and forth in recent days after Moscow took issue with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s description of North Korea at a defense meeting. The NK News team discusses the war of words between the two sides, along with a planned trip by Russian nationals set for this week, in what could be the return of tourists to the DPRK. 

The team also talks about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s secret visit to a recently-opened luxury department store in Pyongyang as well as an NK Pro analysis, which revealed that the DPRK has significantly expanded fencing and security infrastructure along both of its coastlines since the start of the pandemic, in a likely attempt to make it harder for residents to escape by sea.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team.

Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko  (@ColinZwirko)
Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin 
Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Some three weeks ago, longtime North Korea watchers Robert Carlin and Siegfried Hecker set off alarm bells from Washington to Seoul when they asserted that “like his grandfather in 1950, Kim Jong Un has made a strategic decision to go to war.” Their warnings in an article for the website 38 North have received widespread coverage in both ROK and U.S. media, and prompted even South Koreans accustomed to ignoring the DPRK to consider whether a repeat of the Korean War is on the horizon.

But not everyone is convinced. Thomas Schäfer, the former German ambassador to the DPRK, argued against their thesis in a rebuttal, and the U.S. government has assessed that there are currently no signs of preparations for an imminent attack.

This week, Carlin and Hecker join the NK News podcast to explain exactly why they see Pyongyang’s recent war rhetoric as more than just empty bluster. They discuss why the DPRK has shifted away from seeking to normalize ties with the U.S., their views on what exactly Kim Jong Un is planning and how they’ve handled the overwhelming response to their article.

Then, NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll shares his thoughts on Carlin and Hecker’s argument and how North Korea could test the credibility of U.S. deterrence.

Robert Carlin is a nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center and a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. From both in and out of government, he has been following North Korea since 1974 and has made over 30 trips there.

Siegfried Hecker is a distinguished professor of practice at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is director emeritus of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as director from 1986 to 1997 and as senior fellow until July 2005.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea appears to have demolished a large monument in Pyongyang symbolizing hope for reunification with South Korea, following orders from Kim Jong Un to “erase” symbols that celebrate inter-Korean reconciliation and the goal of reunification.

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko discusses some of the fallout from Kim’s instructions, as well as North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui’s trip to Moscow last week to meet her Russian counterpart and Vladimir Putin. 

Then, award-winning journalist Chun Sujin joins the podcast to discuss what inspired her to cover North Korea and her predictions for Pyongyang’s diplomatic direction in the years to come. 

She also talks about her book, “North Korean Women in Power: Daughters of the Sun,” which is centered around the elite circle of women who surround DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. Chun also offers her assessment of the likelihood of Kim’s daughter succeeding him. 

Chun Sujin is a staff writer who covers North Korea, writing in Korean for the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and English for the JoongAng Daily newspaper. She has previously worked as a correspondent for government agencies such as the ROK presidential office and the foreign ministry. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean propaganda websites targeting South Korea suddenly started to disappear from the internet last week, after leader Kim Jong Un declared in late December that Korean unification is now “impossible.” Some radio broadcasts into the ROK have also stopped, while the DPRK announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down several organizations dealing with inter-Korean matters.

NK News Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) sits down in the studio to discuss what outlets have disappeared, North Korea’s social media strategy and how this apparent blackout could evolve.

Then, James Heenan, the head of the U.N. Human Rights office in Seoul (@UNrightsSeoul), talks about his role in monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in North Korea, as well as his office’s role in collecting evidence that could one day be used for prosecutions of crimes against humanity in the DPRK.

He also reviews a U.N. report published last year titled “These Wounds Do Not Heal,” which details enforced disappearance and abductions by the DPRK. He discusses enforced disappearances of both North Koreans and of foreigners, as well as the history behind the DPRK’s abductions of Japanese nationals. 

James Heenan previously served as the head of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine from 2015. He has also worked in academia on labor rights issues and as a practicing lawyer in the U.K. and Australia. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea fired more than 200 rounds of artillery shells near the inter-Korean border on Friday, according to the South Korean military, leading the ROK to conduct artillery drills in response and triggering evacuation alerts for three border islands. More artillery fire followed over the weekend, with Pyongyang claiming that it “deceived” Seoul with a fake shelling operation.

NK News Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) talks about the fallout from the weekend, as well as an announcement from the U.S. that Russia has used multiple North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine.

Then retired CIA officer Stephen Mercado joins the podcast to discuss open-source intelligence and the importance of language when deciphering new information about the DPRK. 

He discusses the nuances of translation and how artificial intelligence can help uncover insights on North Korea from Russian, Japanese and even Portuguese sources.

Stephen Mercado is a retired officer of the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise (originally the Foreign Broadcast Information Service). A researcher primarily interested in Japanese intelligence history and Asian open-source intelligence, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is the author of "The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Elite Intelligence School,” several articles and a few dozen book reviews.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rounded out 2023 with an important speech at a multi-day plenum on plans for the new year, outlining an agenda to push forward the country’s five-year military development goals and calling for a “fundamental change” in inter-Korean policy.

The NK News team joins the podcast to recap the speech and explain what it means, including Kim’s statement that unification is now impossible, Pyongyang’s plan to launch three new military reconnaissance satellites in the coming year and how the country’s economy fared in the last year.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team.

Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminkim)
Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

A lot of uncertainty surrounds North Korea as it heads into 2024. While the country began to emerge from under its pandemic restrictions this year, it remains unclear when and if the regime will allow embassies, NGOs and tourists to return. The next U.S. presidential election is set for November, potentially leading to a major change in Washington’s policy toward Pyongyang. And as the DPRK advances its nuclear weapons program, concerns remain that South Korea might be tempted to acquire its own weapons of mass destruction.

NK News sought to make sense of the information by polling over 100 experts earlier this month on their assessment of where things currently stand on North Korea, and where things are likely to go from here. This week, NK News founder and CEO Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) joins the podcast to talk about everything they had to say, from why most DPRK watchers have a dim view of Yoon Suk-yeol’s inter-Korean policy to why international sanctions remain relevant even as they grow increasingly ineffective.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea launched two missiles within just ten hours of each other this week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that state media said aimed to “send a clear warning” to the “U.S. and the military gangsters of the Republic of Korea.”

NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts (@BryanBetts21) discusses the third test of the Hwasong-18 this year, as well as a visit by a Russian delegation to North Korea to talk about economic cooperation and tourism. 

Then, Michael Bosack joins the podcast to talk about his role as deputy secretary of the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission (UNMAC), which supervises the armistice agreement between the two Koreas along the Demilitarized Zone. 

He talks about the mechanisms that UNCMAC uses to communicate and negotiate with the Korean People’s Army, as well as the role the commission played in incidents like a North Korean vessel crossing the inter-Korean maritime border and Travis King’s dash across the Military Demarcation Line.

Michael Bosack (@MikeBosack) is deputy secretary and international relations officer of UNCMAC. He was previously the deputy chief of government relations for U.S. Forces Japan and worked as a Mansfield Fellow in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and National Diet. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

November marked one year since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un first introduced his daughter to the world — and in the process sparked widespread speculation about whether she is his heir. The DPRK has continued to shut down its overseas diplomatic missions, notably in African countries where North Koreans have long been active. And Kim Jong Un gave two speeches to a large-scale meeting of mothers in Pyongyang, urging them to give birth to more children and raise them to be servants of the regime.

Members of the NK News team join the podcast for a roundtable discussion about the biggest news events over the last month, from the Gucci sunglasses of the leader’s daughter to why Kim Jong Un cried at an event in the capital

Plus, long-time NK News analyst James Fretwell reflects on what he’s learned during the last five years of covering North Korea in his final podcast appearance.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team.

Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11)
Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)
News Trainee Joe Smith

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Thousands of North Korean women descended upon Pyongyang for the Fifth National Meeting of Mothers on Sunday, where leader Kim Jong Un urged them to give birth to more children and to send kids to perform hard labor for the state to correct bad behavior.

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko discusses Kim’s speeches on the “intensifying” fight against foreign influence on kids, as well as recent developments with the DPRK’s newly launched reconnaissance satellite. 

Then, former U.S. intelligence officer Sydney Seiler joins the podcast in a follow-up to his previous conversation about his four decades in government service. He answers questions sent in from listeners on the role of interpreters in meetings with North Korean interlocutors, his trip to the DPRK with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and more.

Sydney Seiler (@sydseiler) worked as a senior policymaker, negotiator and intelligence officer for the U.S. government for 42 years, including stints at U.S. Forces Korea, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Korea partially withdrew from an inter-Korean military agreement over North Korea’s successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite last week. In response, Pyongyang announced it would scrap the Comprehensive Military Agreement in its entirety, and both sides have since pledged to rebuild guard posts along the border. NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin talks about what this could mean for future relations, as well as local elections that took place in North Korea over the weekend. 

Then, outgoing United Nations Command (UNC) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison sits down in the studio to talk about his work for the multinational military force tasked with maintaining the Korean War Armistice and peace on the peninsula. 

He also discusses a meeting earlier this month that brought together top defense officials of South Korea and 17 UNC member states, as well as the roles that troops from some 11 countries play in UNC work like demining and recovering bodies from the demilitarized zone. 

Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison is a senior officer in the British Army who serves as the Deputy Commander of United Nations Command in South Korea and the Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment. He previously completed tours in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The third time was the charm for North Korea this week, as the country successfully launched a military spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday after two previous failures. Leader Kim Jong Un hailed the success and framed the satellite as necessary to “curb dangerous invasion moves by the hostile forces.”

South Korea responded by partially suspending its 2018 military agreement with the DPRK and announcing plans to resume reconnaissance activity in the no-fly buffer zone created by the deal. North Korea quickly reacted by scrapping the entire deal and vowing to resume “all” related military activities.

The NK News team sits down in the studio for a special episode to discuss the significance of these events, as well as what to expect in the months to come.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko)
Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea claimed it successfully launched a rocket carrying a military spy satellite late Tuesday night. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the DPRK’s warning about its plans ahead of the launch, as well as the return of the North Korean men’s soccer team to international competition. 

Then, former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry sits down in the studio to discuss “Beyond Utopia,” a documentary film she produced about an underground network helping people to escape North Korea.

The film uses real footage shot inside the DPRK and in transit countries to tell the story of North Koreans attempting to defect from the country, as well as the people who help to facilitate these dangerous escapes. The film took home the “U.S. Documentary Competition: Audience Award” at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Sue Mi Terry (@SueMiTerry) is a former CIA officer and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She also served as the head of the Asia program at the Wilson Center and is a senior adviser at Macro Advisory Partners.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

U.S. and South Korean officials have continued to raise concerns about potential weapons trade between North Korea and Russia, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing Moscow of providing technical assistance to Pyongyang in return for munitions.

The U.N. Panel of Exports also recently released its latest report on DPRK sanctions evasion, documenting coal smuggling and DPRK overseas workers in Laos and Russia.

Meanwhile, China’s forced repatriation of North Koreans has been a major concern for human rights activities, with family members of the repatriated fearing for their loved ones.

The NK News team joins the podcast to discuss these stories and other major North Korea developments from October. This week’s episode features the following members of the team:

Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill (@alannahmhill)
Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)
Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The U.N. Panel of Experts overseeing DPRK sanctions released its latest report this month. NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) sits down in the studio to discuss some of the report’s findings, as well as North Korea’s decision to close numerous embassies across the globe, including in Uganda, Angola and Spain.

Then, Jacob Reidhead, assistant professor of Asian Studies at National Chengchi University in Taipei, joins the podcast to talk about the differences between humanitarian aid and human rights work and his recent paper exploring the different approaches to tackling human rights abuses in the DPRK. 

Jacob Reidhead (@seouljake) has a degree in sociology from Stanford University and spent six months in North Korea between 2008-2009 monitoring a United States Agency for International Development food program. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The seas around the Korean Peninsula have been busy recently, following the defection of four North Koreans in a wooden boat and a South Korean mission to help a DPRK vessel stranded north of the inter-Korean maritime border. NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) discusses both incidents and the controversy over the military’s response to the defectors.

Then, Victor Cha (@VictorDCha) and Ramon Pachero Pardo (@rpachecopardo) sit down in the studio to discuss their recently published book “Korea: A New History of South and North.” They talk about major moments in the Koreas’ modern history and how their different nationalities influenced their perspectives when writing the book. They also respond to an NK News review of their book and criticism that it oversimplified North Korea issues.

Victor Cha is the senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a professor of government and served as director for Asian Studies at Georgetown University for a decade. From 2004 to 2007, he was director for Asian affairs at the White House, where he was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy for Japan, the two Koreas, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island nations.

Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo is professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is also King's Regional Envoy for East and South East Asia.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

An appeal filed to a U.N. working group this week marked the first time that one of the thousands of North Koreans believed to be detained in China and at risk of forced return to the DPRK was named. NK News Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) discusses the case of 36-year-old Kim Sun-hyang, as well as the filing of criminal charges against U.S. soldier Travis King following his release from North Korea last month.

Then, Paul Kyumin Lee joins the podcast to talk about the work his organization Divided Families USA is doing to raise awareness about families living in America that have been separated from their relatives by the Korean War. He also discusses the “Letters To My Hometown” project, for which he traveled to seven cities to interview 26 Korean Americans who have been separated from their families in North Korea. 

Paul Kyumin Lee is the president of Divided Families USA, an organization dedicated to facilitating closure for elderly Korean Americans who have been separated from their family members in North Korea as a result of the Korean War. He is the co-founder and co-host of the Divided Families podcast.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Photos released Friday by the Israeli military and media outlets show that Hamas likely used North Korea-made weapons in its offensive against Israel. NK News and NK Pro founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) joins the podcast to talk about the DPRK’s response to the claims, some interesting finds during a recent tour of inter-Korean border areas and the likelihood of foreign tourists being allowed back into the country. 

Then, Tatiana Gabroussenko sits down in the studio to discuss literature, film and media in North Korea. She talks about changes in how state media portrays leader Kim Jong Un compared to his father, how it misconstrues events in South Korea, how advertising works in the DPRK and propaganda aimed at non-Koreans.

Tatiana Gabroussenko obtained her Ph.D. in East Asian Studies at the Australian National University. She is currently a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University in Seoul. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea’s ruling party daily the Rodong Sinmun weighed in on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, blaming the violence on Israel’s “ceaseless criminal acts” without mentioning the Palestinian military group’s deadly attacks on the country.

North Korean athletes saw success, as well as controversy, at the Asian Games in September and October. The women’s soccer team enjoyed victory over what it described as South Korean “puppets” before losing to Japan in the final, while the men’s team tried to shove the referee after also losing to Japan.

The NK News team joins the podcast to take a look back at these stories and others that made headlines in the last month, from South Korea’s controversial new defense minister to talk about greater cryptocurrency cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11)
Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim)
Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea made the sudden decision to expel Travis King from the country last week, more than two months after the young American soldier dashed across the inter-Korean border. NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts talks about King’s journey back to the U.S. via China and what he faces next, as well as the overturning of South Korea’s anti-leaflet law and the DPRK’s revision of its constitution to reflect its new nuclear law.

Then, Steven Denney sits down with host Jacco Zwetsloot to discuss a report he co-authored that delves into how outside information spreads in North Korea. He talks about how the DPRK controls its information landscape by banning all foreign media, as well as state monitoring that is designed to foster distrust among society. 

Steven Denney (@StevenDenney86) is a lecturer and vice-director for the study program in East Asian Economy and Society for the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna. He is also the vice-director of the European Centre for North Korean Studies. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Korea showed off its tanks, drones and missile defense systems in a “street march” through central Seoul on Tuesday afternoon. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill talks about Seoul’s first military parade in a decade, the rare appearance of a famous North Korean ferry at a port near Russia, behind-the-scenes tidbits from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent trip to Russia, and more. 

Then, Sokeel Park, South Korea director of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), joins the podcast to discuss the work his organization does to rescue and empower North Korean refugees, provide North Korean people with more access to information and change perceptions on the DPRK. He touches on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted LiNK’s work, the challenges North Korean refugees face depending on where they resettle and how they stay in touch with the family and friends they had to leave behind.

Sokeel Park (@Sokeel) is South Korea country director and director of research and strategy for LiNK. As well as overseeing the NGO’s Seoul-based operations, he works with defectors and experts to offer up-to-date analysis on North Korea and foster people-focused strategies to facilitate change in the DPRK.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned to Pyongyang late Tuesday night after a whirlwind nine-day tour of Russia’s Far East. During the trip, Kim and his delegation of high-level officials met with Russian leader Vladamir Putin, visited the Cosmodrome Vostochny spaceport, toured an aircraft factory and inspected Russia’s Pacific Fleet — raising concerns about military cooperation between the two sides in the process.

This week, Korea Risk Group Director Andrei Lankov and NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin join the podcast to review everything that happened during Kim’s travels, his first outside the country in some four years. They discuss what we know about the discussions between Kim and Putin, the potential for greater security and space cooperation, gift exchanges and other activities that flew under the radar, possible U.N. sanctions violations and more.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to the Russian Far East for a summit with Vladimir Putin this week, holding talks at the Cosmodrome Vostochny spaceport on Wednesday. NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin recaps the lead-up to the visit and what we know about Kim’s journey to Russia, his first international trip since 2019. He also talks about North Korea’s recent paramilitary parade to mark the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s founding. 

Then, former U.S. intelligence officer Sydney Seiler joins the podcast to discuss his more than four-decade government career working on Korean Peninsula issues. Seiler delves into how U.S. policy on North Korea is formed and implemented, covering everything from his biography on Kim Il Sung and his experiences analyzing North Korean state media to his time as staff director of the National Security Council.

Sydney Seiler (@sydseiler) worked as a senior policymaker, negotiator and intelligence officer for the U.S. government for 42 years, including stints at U.S. Forces Korea, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could soon travel to Russia for a summit with Vladimir Putin made international headlines this week, following a busy August in which the DPRK conducted the first flights to Vladivostok in years and the U.S. accused the two countries of actively pushing forward plans for new weapons trade.

The month also saw a trilateral summit between the U.S., South Korea and Japan at Camp David, a trip by North Korean taekwondo athletes to Kazakhstan and large-scale joint military drills by Seoul and Washington.

The NK News team joins the podcast to take a look back at the big stories that made headlines in the last month, from the DPRK’s first statement on American soldier Travis King and the overhaul of South Korea’s unification ministry to an obscure new organization offering $5 million for information on North Korea.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

Editor Arius Derr (@AriusDerr)
Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim)
Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea attempted to put a military spy satellite into orbit but failed for the second time in three months last week. NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko talks through what’s known about the launch, as well as South Korea’s not-so-successful civil defense drill and state media’s report on North Koreans overseas returning home for the first time since 2020.

Then, Eric Penton-Voak, former head of the U.N. Panel of Experts overseeing North Korea sanctions, joins the podcast to talk about how the panel puts together its biannual reports on violations of the DPRK sanctions regime. Penton-Voak discusses how the reports are drafted, the “internal tensions” that come with this process and how to decipher the final versions.

Eric Penton-Voak served as coordinator of the U.N. Panel of Experts from 2021 to 2023. Prior to that, he worked in the British Foreign Ministry for almost 30 years.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea will attempt a satellite launch between Aug. 24 and 31, according to the Japanese Prime Minister’s office and Japan Coast Guard Tuesday morning. NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim talks about why Japan got the heads up from the DPRK, as well as Pyongyang’s warning that the trilateral summit at Camp David has made “thermo-nuclear war” on the Korean Peninsula “more than likely.”

Then, Christian activist Tim Peters stops by the studio to discuss his work to help North Korean escapees reach South Korea and people still in the DPRK to grow their own food. He explains how he first got involved with this work during North Korea’s “Arduous March” famine of the 1990s, how it has evolved into a regular effort to send vegetable seeds to the DPRK and more.

Tim Peters is the founder of Helping Hands Korea, a Christian NGO that seeks to help North Koreans in crisis. A documentary on his work can be found here. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

A tour company operating in North Korea has claimed that the DPRK will soon open its borders to select citizens for the first time in nearly four years, citing sources in the country. NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy talks about what a reopening could look like, Typhoon Khanun’s impact on North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s recent tours of weapons factories.

Then, UniKorea Foundation Secretary-General Jeon Byung-gil and Program Manager Kim Tae-rae (@taeraekim_) join the podcast to discuss their new research paper on how North Korean brands imitate foreign products in industries ranging from cosmetics to processed foods. They talk about the DPRK’s copycats of snacks like Choco Pie and high-end luxury goods from designer brands like Dior and Burberry, and explain how the DPRK uses such products not only to generate money but also for propaganda.

The UniKorea Foundation was founded in May 2015 and works on mutual cooperation between the two Koreas for the ultimate goal of Korean unification.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Both China and North Korea have increased security along their border in recent years, making it much more difficult for DPRK escapees to avoid capture. NK News correspondent Ifang Bremer discusses the network of security cameras, watchtowers and other infrastructure that undergird Beijing’s clampdown, as well as his experience covering the disastrous World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.

Then, FBI special agent Brandon Cavanaugh joins the podcast to talk about the case of Virgil Griffith and why U.S. law enforcement pursued charges against the American cryptocurrency expert over his dealings with the DPRK. Griffith was sentenced to five years in prison last spring for conspiring to help North Korea evade sanctions using blockchain technology.

Editor’s note: Cavanaugh asked that his voice be disguised for operational security as a condition for the interview.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea marked the 70th anniversary of its “victory” in the Korean War last week with its second large-scale military parade of the year, as high-level international guests traveled to the country to join the festivities for the first time during the pandemic. NK News lead correspondent Jeongmin Kim and senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko dissect the military pageantry and the weapons that rolled through Kim Il Sung Square, while exploring the messages that Russia and China sent by sending delegations to the parade and other events.

Then, to celebrate the 300th episode of the NK News podcast, the members of the NK News team join host Jacco Zwetsloot in the studio to talk all things North Korea and reminisce on some of the most memorable stories they’ve covered.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice, a day known as “Victory Day” in North Korea. Chinese and Russian delegations are traveling to the DPRK to join celebrations for the holiday, including a likely military parade, and NK News editor Arius Derr talks about what is likely to take place this week, as well as the case of the American soldier who illegally crossed the border into the DPRK. 

Then, Mark Sauter, president of the POW Investigative Project (PIP), joins the podcast to discuss his work to uncover the truth about American prisoners of war that remain unaccounted for after the Korean War and Washington’s failure to recover soldiers lost behind enemy lines.

Mark Sauter is the founder and president of PIP and author of “American Trophies.” He has been investigating American POWs for almost 30 years and previously served as a soldier in the U.S. Army, including as a guard post commander at the Demilitarized Zone.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea warned last week that it will shoot down U.S. reconnaissance planes that enter its exclusive economic zone, and those may not be empty threats, history shows. NK News analyst James Fretwell discusses when North Korea shot down a U.S. reconnaissance plane in April 1969 and how the U.S. responded, including by considering nuclear strikes.

Also, an American soldier dashed across the inter-Korean border on Tuesday during a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA). Information continues to trickle out about the man, Private Second Class Travis King, who remains in the DPRK.

NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Tharp discuss what we know so far about the apparent defection, how King managed to cross the border and what he could be facing in North Korea.

Steve Tharp is a retired U.S. Army officer whose 28-year career included 14 years in Korea-based assignments in the 2nd Infantry Division and the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea threatened to shoot down U.S. spy planes that it said “violated” its exclusive economic zone this week. But South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff denied the claims, stating the U.S. reconnaissance flights were “standard” and did not intrude on the North’s territory.

NK News data correspondent Anton Sokolin discusses the North’s threats and Kim Yo Jong’s choice of words in her statements slamming the U.S., as well as Russian wheat shipments and the U.N. food program’s plans for future projects.

Then, Bada Nam of the People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE) joins the podcast to talk about the NGO’s recent report on internet use in the DPRK. He talks about why North Koreans are “hostages in the digital world” and the lengths even the elite must go to in order to surf the web, as well as the difficulties of collecting firsthand defector accounts.

Bada Nam is the secretary general of PSCORE, an NGO based in Seoul that advocates for human rights in North Korea and helps defectors adapt to life in South Korea.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced his nominee for unification minister last week, but his pick for the role overseeing inter-Korean exchanges — the “new right” professor Kim Yung-ho — has proven controversial for his past comments calling for regime change and repeatedly predicting North Korea’s collapse.

NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses the nomination and what it means for the ministry, as well as the DPRK’s new anti-U.S. propaganda posters, YouTube shutting down North Korean channels and more.

Then, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton joins the podcast for an exclusive interview to discuss his views on how to create a unified Korean Peninsula and counter DPRK nuclear threats, and why he believes regime change is not necessary to achieve these goals. He also talks about why he believes China should do more to reign in Pyongyang and promote peace, how a withdrawal of U.S. troops would impact negotiations on North Korean WMDs and more.

John Bolton has played a key role in shaping Washington’s policy toward North Korea over the course of more than two decades, including leading efforts to abandon the Agreed Framework. He served as former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 to Sept. 2019, a period that covered all three of Trump’s meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Before that Bolton served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs and as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The Wagner Group’s brief rebellion rocked Russia over the weekend — and left analysts scratching their heads about what it was all about. But will the aborted uprising impact North Korea’s cooperation with Russia, and should Kim Jong Un himself start worrying about such a military coup? 

NK News analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko discusses the implications of the uprising for the DPRK, as well as a new report on food shortages in the country, preparations for a July military parade and more.

Sunday also marked the 78th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was living in Seoul when North Korea launched its invasion of the South, and he joins the podcast to talk about his memories of the war. He discusses his childhood in Manchuria under Japanese rule, seeing his father for the last time at a Changchun train station and learning songs of praise to Kim Il Sung during North Korea’s rule of Seoul.

Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was born in the Japanese colony of Manchukuo in the city now known as Changchun, moving to Korea with his mother just as Japan was surrendering in Aug. 1945. He had a long career as a high school English teacher, and after completing a Ph.D. in recreation studies, he taught various subjects at universities in Seoul. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea dramatically destroyed an inter-Korean liaison office near the border in anger over ROK activists’ leafleting in 2020, and now three years later, Seoul wants Pyongyang to pay, suing the North in an effort to recoup construction costs for the building. 

Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), lead correspondent at NK News and editorial director at Korea Pro, discusses the Yoon administration’s novel legal strategy and how the move fits into a broader rightward shift in its inter-Korean and foreign policy.

Then, Christopher Green of International Crisis Group joins the NK News podcast to discuss the likelihood of an inter-Korean naval clash, the value of North Korea’s satellite launches for regime security and what the end of the Sunshine Era can teach us about the current political moment.

Christopher Green (@Dest_Pyongyang) is an analyst at the International Crisis Group and an assistant professor at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea’s borders have been closed for more than three years, but that likely hasn’t stopped China from rounding up defectors and detaining them for eventual repatriation back to the DPRK.

New NK Pro analysis reveals that China has expanded prisons known to house defectors right near the border. Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) shares his investigation into these prisons, the rigorous interrogations carried out there and why defectors face even bleaker outcomes if sent back across the border.

Then, Karl Friedhoff of the Chicago Council joins the show to dissect public polling data and help us better understand how South Koreans really feel about nuclear weapons, why North Korea barely registers for younger voters, whether President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval ratings will continue to inch up after a “train wreck” of a first year and more.

Karl Friedhoff (@KarlFriedhoff) is the Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where he researches U.S. foreign policy in Asia, South Korean politics and international relations.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The last several weeks have seen major developments on the Korean Peninsula, most notably North Korea’s botched satellite launch that triggered “wartime alert” warnings in South Korea. A historic series of meetings between ROK and Japanese leaders pushed forward efforts to repair ties. And the U.S. and ROK conducted their “largest-ever” live-fire drills.

NK News lead correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) break it all down in a monthly roundtable discussion on the biggest events from May.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Seoul residents awoke to the sound of evacuation sirens and shrill emergency text alerts on Wednesday, after North Korea launched a military spy satellite that ultimately failed. The DPRK has expressed interest in sending its athletes to international competitions, but has been sending mixed signals about easing pandemic border controls.

Scholar Dafna Zur also joins the podcast to discuss her research into North Korean children’s literature and how the country’s translation of Anne Frank’s diary sought to make the author into a model of resilience against hardship, while stripping it of much of its content on Judaism.

Dafna Zur (@dafnazur) is an associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures at Stanford University. You can find her academic article on North Korea’s translation of Anne Frank’s diary here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/886562/pdf. The Dutch documentary on the translation discussed during the podcast is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhyC-s-PyzI.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a rapid deterioration in inter-Korean ties. The six-party talks broke down, North Korea conducted its second nuclear test and dozens of sailors and South Korean civilians died in two separate DPRK attacks in 2010. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens led the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 2008 to 2011 and played a leading role in navigating the U.S.-ROK alliance through this tumultuous period. 

This week, she joins the NK News podcast to discuss the unique challenges and scrutiny a U.S. ambassador faces in Seoul, the allied responses to the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island attacks and the six-party denuclearization talks. Ambassador Stephens also weighs in on watching South Korea’s rapid industrialization and democratization, inter-Korean cooperation projects, what the Good Friday Agreement can teach about inter-Korean reconciliation and more.

Kathleen Stephens (@AmbStephens) first lived in South Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1975 to 1977. She went on to serve as an internal political unit chief at the embassy in Seoul from 1983 to 1987 and an officer at the U.S. consulate in Busan from 1987 to 1989. She became the first female U.S. ambassador to South Korea in 2008. Ambassador Stephens now serves as chair of the board at the Korea Society in New York and president and CEO at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Koreans are subjected to some of the worst human rights abuses on Earth, living under a state that refuses to cooperate with the U.N. and other watchdogs and does whatever it takes to keep the Kim dynasty in power.

But Joanna Hosaniak of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights says that regime change is not necessarily the answer. Instead, she argues that the international community must learn to work within the confines of the North Korean state to realize change from within.

This week, Hosaniak joins the NK News podcast to discuss the history of the North Korean human rights movement and how her group leverages its nongovernmental status to push for improvements. She also talks about how DPRK human rights has become politicized in South Korea, the impacts of COVID lockdowns on defectors and whether it’s time for a new U.N. Commission of Inquiry investigation into human rights abuses in the country.

Joanna Hosaniak is the deputy director general of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (@NKHumanRights), the world’s oldest nongovernmental organization devoted exclusively to North Korean human rights. She has also worked at the South Korean Embassy in Poland and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Pyongyang failed to achieve its dream of unifying the Korean Peninsula under the banner of the Kim regime during the Korean War, but that may not mean it has abandoned the goal.

Andrei Lankov, a professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University, argues that Pyongyang made unification a long-term goal to orient national ideology and justify military spending. And this week, he joins the podcast to discuss why he believes the DPRK’s rapid development of long-range and tactical nuclear weapons now compressed the timeline under which it could realistically achieve this goal through nuclear blackmail.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Lankov talks about why a low-level military clash between the Koreas is increasingly likely in the near future, whether the geopolitical conditions will ever materialize for North Korea to truly attempt to conquer the South, how Donald Trump’s alliance skepticism energized the South Korean nuclear debate and more.

Andrei Lankov is a director at NK News and professor at Kookmin University and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University from 1984 to 1985 and has authored several books on the DPRK.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

From the outside, it appears the Kim Jong Un regime is no closer to giving up its nuclear weapons than it was a decade ago. State media frequently trumpets the newest nuclear strategy or delivery vehicle, and the leader himself said he will never again entertain denuclearization talks.

But Taeho Uhm, a director at the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sees a country struggling with its choices as it copes with its self-imposed pariah status.

Uhm joins the NK News podcast to discuss Pyongyang’s strategy for muddling through, the South Korean government’s “audacious initiative” and how Yoon Suk-yeol is working to deter, dissuade and enter into dialogue with Kim Jong Un.

He also talks about the South Korean nuclear debate, working on inter-Korean relations across multiple administrations and makes the case that the denuclearization of North Korea is a global issue — not just a Korean one.

Taeho Uhm is the director for North Korean nuclear affairs negotiations in the Office of the Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the South Korean foreign ministry (@MOFAkr_eng).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol reached a series of agreements during their summit on Wednesday, creating a new nuclear consultation group to “manage” North Korean threats and pledging to “further enhance the visibility” of U.S. strategic assets on the peninsula.

But reading between the lines of the summit result — which included a joint declaration, fact sheet and press conference — reveals that Washington was likely as focused on deterring South Korea from going nuclear as it was on preventing the DPRK from using its nuclear weapons.

NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl), lead correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Korea Pro editor John Lee (@koreanforeigner) discuss the top-line takeaways from summit, including:

How the new U.S.-ROK nuclear sharing differs from NATO nuclear sharing deal
The value of a state visit over just a summit 
How recent developments affect public support for ROK nuclear weapons program 
The economic security dimensions of the meeting
What new South Korean investments in missile defense mean for North Korean threats 
New freedom of information developments and implications for North Korean censorship 
And more

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

As a three-star Air Force general, Dan Leaf trained to carry out nuclear strikes and vaporize targets without hesitation. But after a more than 30-year career, including tours on the Korean Peninsula, the self-described “nuclear warrior” came to believe that what the U.S. was doing wasn’t working to reduce tensions with the DPRK.

The retired general now believes that a permanent peace treaty with the Kim regime is the best chance to break the status quo and, most importantly, reduce the chance of nuclear conflict. And he argues that this could also undermine a raison d’etre of a regime that has made war with the U.S. a core part of its identity.

Leaf joins the NK News podcast to discuss his time in high-level positions in Korea, what reconciliation with Vietnam can teach us about Korea, why the U.S. consider sending food aid into North Korea regardless of whether the country agrees to accept it and more.

Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf (@figleaf31) is a retired U.S. three-star general and Air Force fighter pilot and former deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. You can read his New York Times op-ed making the case for a peace treaty with North Korea here.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Eunju Kim was a victim of human trafficking after she fled North Korea, spending three years in China in the house of a man who purchased her and her sister.

Then, in the middle of the night, police stormed into the residence and took the girls into custody before forcibly repatriating them back to North Korea. When Eunju crossed the border again, she found that she had been erased: The local DPRK government assumed she had starved to death, and deleted her from the citizens' registry. 

A ghost in her hometown, she embarked on a yearslong journey that ultimately ended up with her in South Korea.

Now Eunju works for Freedom Speakers International (FSI), helping empower North Korean refugees, especially women, by teaching them the communication tools critical for life in modern South Korean society.

Eunju and FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee join the NK News podcast to discuss Eunju’s incredible journey out of North Korea, the importance of English language for defectors, how North Korean refugees overcome prejudice and more. 

Eunju Kim is a North Korea refugee communication specialist at FSI and co-author of “A Thousand Miles to Freedom.” Eunkoo Lee is co-founder and co-president at FSI and an expert and advocate for North Korean human rights and refugees.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea fired nearly 20 missiles across more than a half-dozen launch events in March, framing the tests and drills as responses to large-scale U.S.-ROK springtime exercises. But now that the calendar has turned to April, even bigger developments could be on the horizon.

The DPRK will mark a number of important holidays this month, including the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung and the founding of the national military. And North Korea has indicated that it will complete preparations for a satellite launch this month, while South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to make a state visit to the U.S. that Pyongyang will closely monitor. 

This week, NK News founder Chad O'Carroll and analyst James Fretwell join the podcast to discuss the March that was and prospects for the month ahead — from North Korea’s new undersea “nuclear attack drone” and surprise border reopening to ongoing military drills in South Korea and the possibility of more long-range missile testing.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Mount Paektu, the highest mountain on the Korean Peninsula, holds a special place in North Korea. Not only did Kim Il Sung — the country’s first leader — based his anti-Japanese guerrilla campaign there, Kim Jong Il — his son and the country’s second leader — was born on the mountain, according to the DPRK’s dubious official history.

Mount Paektu is also considered the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical founder of Korea’s first kingdom. Amid the inter-Korean rapprochement of 2018, North and South Korean leaders Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in famously held hands and took photos atop the mountain.

It’s also an active volcano. Just over 1,000 years ago, Mount Paektu erupted on a scale that ranks among the largest in recorded human history.

James Hammond of Birkbeck, University of London is the director of the Mount Paektu Research Centre. Hammond joins the NK News Podcast to talk about his interest in the mountain, collaboration with North Korean scientists, how sanctions affect what research equipment you can bring into the DPRK and much more.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Few populations in the world need more help than North Koreans. Chronic food insecurity, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, inadequate infrastructure and energy shorts affect millions in the country, even in the relatively well-off capital.

These issues have compounded over the last three years due to the regime’s ultra-strict pandemic controls. Very little food, health and other aid have reached the country since, and there are no international aid workers left to ensure that North Korea’s most vulnerable are receiving what goods have trickled in.

Few are more familiar with these challenges than Jerome Sauvage, who led U.N. humanitarian efforts in North Korea during Kim Jong Un’s first years in power. 

Sauvage joins the NK News Podcast to talk about his work in the country and how the DPRK changed during his time there. He also discusses the different approaches of U.N. aid agencies, the unique challenges facing the DPRK agriculture sector, underreported health issues killing North Korean children, the humanitarian impact of sanctions and more.

Jerome Sauvage is an international relations consultant with extensive experience in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As U.N. Coordinator in North Korea from 2009 to 2013, Jérome Sauvage led the U.N. in providing emergency and humanitarian support to the population, represented the U.N. at bilateral and multilateral levels, negotiated the U.N.’s operating conditions in the country and led fundraising efforts in support of humanitarian activities. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

When the U.S. dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Japan in 1945, it killed or injured tens of thousands of ethnic Koreans working — often against their will — at munitions and other factories in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Tokyo has provided support for Japanese victims, but the situation has been entirely different for Koreans. And as Lauren Richardson of the Australian National University explains, decades of appeals from both North and South Korea have not yielded the same awareness or support.

This week, Richardson joins the NK News podcast to discuss how the politics of victimhood have evolved over the decades since WWII, how North Korea has also co-opted the discourse over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for its own ideological purposes and how the DPRK medical system responds to radiation treatment for atomic bomb victims.

Lauren Richardson (@Lauren_ANU) is a lecturer in the Department of International Relations at Australian National University. Read her paper “The Forgotten Victims of the Atomic Bomb: North Korean Pipokja and the Politics of Victimhood in Japan-DPRK Relations” by clicking here.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The Joint Security Area on the inter-Korean border used to be a popular tourist destination, a place where North and South Korean soldiers stare each other down and visitors can actually step over the Military Demarcation Line within the confines of the famous blue buildings. But since the start of COVID-19, the U.N. Command overseeing the area has prohibited most visits.

Recently, however, members of the NK News team joined other media for a special tour of Panmunjom on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), recording an exclusive podcast from what past U.S. presidents have called “freedom’s frontier.”

This week, host Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) and NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) go inside the Joint Security Area to investigate reports of mass starvation in North Korea, how communications pass between the two sides, when the DPRK does (and doesn’t) answer the phone and what’s changed during the pandemic.

You can read more about what NK News learned during the JSA visit in the following article: "No signs of death and starvation at inter-Korean border, UNC officials say."

Interested in a free annual subscription to NK News and helping us make a better podcast? We'd love to know what you would to hear. Click here and fill out the survey for a chance to win.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

For decades, North Korea has stressed the virtues of self-reliance, eschewing more robust ties with the outside world in favor of greater autonomy, even at significant cost to its economy.

Founding leader Kim Il Sung championed this Korean-style autarky under the name Juche, and this ideology of self-reliance and national sovereignty found a receptive audience in some parts of the world, in particular among member states of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Alhassan Mamman Muhammad is one of those who became a believer in North Korea’s state ideology. The leader of a Nigerian committee promoting Juche, he joins the NK News podcast to discuss why he has embraced the DPRK’s political ideals, how the Non-Aligned Movement inspired him and others to embrace Juche, how this relates to the legacies of colonialism on the African continent and more.

 Muhammad is chairman of the Nigerian National Committee on the Study of Juche Idea and a professor at the University of Abuja in Nigeria.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea has refused nearly all diplomatic outreach since mid-2019, choosing instead to go full bore into weapons development while pledging never again to participate in denuclearization talks.

But for Keith Luse of the National Committee on North Korea, this lack of engagement stems at least partly from Washington’s own policy oscillations.

Luse joins the NK News podcast to discuss how to engage the DPRK across diverse issues, from humanitarianism to nuclear weapons. He talks about how lack of information on the outside world hinders North Korea’s ability to maximize the best outcomes for itself, why he thinks Kim Jong Un's economic ambitions are real and should give us hope for future prospects of international cooperation, his multiple visits to Pyongyang and more.

Keith Luse is the executive director of the National Committee on North Korea (@NCNKorea). He has also served as senior Asia policy adviser at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

In the early 2000s, no one outside North Korea was quite sure about the extent of the country’s nuclear program, whether it had plutonium for an atomic bomb and if then-leader Kim Jong Il was willing to risk a nuclear test.

That changed in 2004, when North Korea invited Siegfried Hecker, longtime chief of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, to tour its Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center. Hecker found a nascent but highly advanced nuclear program, driven by talented scientists who acutely understood the technological processes behind plutonium reprocessing.

This week, Hecker joins the NK News podcast to talk about his visits to Yongbyon and his new book exploring the DPRK’s nuclear program. He explains why North Korea might prefer plutonium bombs to uranium ones, how many bombs the DPRK likely possesses and why he believes the deal put on the table at the U.S.-DPRK summit in Hanoi was the best chance to stop North Korea’s nuclear program in decades.

Dr. Siegfried Hecker (@SiegfriedHecker) was the fifth director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the premier U.S. nuclear research facility. He is also a senior fellow and professor emeritus at Stanford University. His new book “Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea’s Nuclear Program” is now available.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

When North Korea invaded the South in 1950, it triggered a brutal three-year war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. 

But David Cheng Chang argues that the Korean War was in fact two separate conflicts. The first ended in 1951, when both the North and South Korean front lines became more or less static. The second and far less studied conflict ran from 1951 to the armistice agreement in 1953, focusing primarily on the fate of prisoners of war (POW) held in both communist and allied camps.

Chang joins the NK News podcast to discuss his perspective on the war, the staggering number of Chinese volunteer army personnel that fought on North Korea’s side, why it insisted POWs be returned to their home countries, brainwashing of prisoners by both U.S. and communist forces and more. 

David Cheng Chang is associate professor of history at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His book “The Hijacked War: The Story of Chinese POWs in the Korean War” was published in Jan. 2020, and you can find him on Twitter @DavidChangCheng. 

Watch David’s interview with Yang Shuzhi (楊樹芝) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUj3pfqcGY8

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea celebrated the 75th anniversary of its army on Wednesday, revealing a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and showing off more long-range missiles than ever before at a single event.

Kim Jong Un's young daughter was also front and center during the event and even accompanied her father to a pre-parade banquet.

But the parade was also notable for what it lacked, with no Kim Jong Un speech, no new conventional capabilities and no obvious COVID-19 protocols less than two weeks after a lockdown in the capital.

The NK News team breaks down all the details from North Korea's latest military spectacle, what it may mean for the country's weapons testing this year and what it says about the domestic political situation going forward.

This podcast features NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl), Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko).

Watch the NK Pro KCNA Watch stream of North Korea's latest parade here: https://kcnawatch.org/kctv-archive

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The Seoul metropolitan area is only around 30 miles from North Korea and would be a major attack point in most any conflict scenario. This puts some 25 million people — about half of South Korea’s entire population — at considerable risk.

David Walsh and Andrew Gilholm have thought about risk scenarios and damage mitigation on the Korean Peninsula for decades, and they join the NK News podcast this week to discuss how to overcome complacency about large-scale threats, evacuation plans in case of a North Korean attack and how geography increases risks.

David Walsh is the vice president of operations for DR&A Advisory, where he manages international security projects and threat management. He is also the former manager of security at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

Andrew Gilholm is a principal and director of the analysis practice for Greater China and North Asia at Control Risks, overseeing coverage of political, regulatory and security issues across the region. Andrew has worked in the political risk industry focusing on China and Korea for 17 years.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

 

Improving the lives of the North Korean people and ensuring they can exercise universal rights and liberties are among the most important tasks for international actors working in and with the country. But digging beneath the surface quickly reveals that humanitarianism and human rights are different spheres with significantly different approaches to the problems facing the country.

This week, Danielle Chubb and Nazanin Zadeh-Cumming join the NK News Podcast to discuss their recent paper exploring an area of common ground between the two camps — disability rights — and the potential for further meaningful change in this space.

The two scholars also talk about how to overcome the politicization of engagement with Pyongyang, why North Korea rejects human rights as irrelevant and how the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report in 2014 led to positive changes.

Danielle Chubb (@danielle_chb) is an associate professor of international relations at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia. Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings (@nzadehcummings) is the Associate Director of Research at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership and a senior lecturer in Humanitarian Studies at Deakin.

The first 50 visitors can read Chubb and Zadeh-Cumming’s paper, “International engagement with North Korea: disability, human rights and humanitarian aid” for free at the following link: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DPABIWF6AZXPQWYYPABD/full?target=10.1080/01436597.2022.2141217

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Kim Kang-woo escaped North Korea in 2016, promising his widowed mother that he would raise the money needed to get her out too. But after brokers were unable to arrange her escape, he decided to take matters into his own hands, crossing the border back into North Korea to attempt a dramatic rescue that reads like something out of a movie script.

Washington Post journalist Michelle Ye Hee Lee reported on Kim’s unique story last year and joins the NK News podcast to talk about the immense dangers, costs and heartbreak that North Koreans face when they decide to escape the country. 

Lee also discusses reporting on North Korea through Tik Tok, Pyongyang’s own experiments with social media, what it was like in Japan when North Korea sent a missile over the country last year and more.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee (@myhlee) is the Seoul and Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Multiple North Korean drones entered ROK airspace and even breached a no-fly zone near the presidential office late last year, prompting Seoul to order its own unmanned aerial vehicle to cross the border and photograph a DPRK military facility.

The Yoon administration’s stated eagerness to “punish” what it considers North Korean provocations has significantly upped the stakes on the Korean Peninsula, and the risk of miscommunication and poor signaling leading to conflict looks set to continue to increase in 2023.

This week, the NK News team joins the podcast to consider the new risk environment in the region and other recent North Korea developments. They discuss the evolving controversy over drone incursions, Pyongyang’s latest solid-fuel missile engine test, North Korea’s reported shipment of weapons to Russia’s Wagner Group, the most recent party plenum and more.

This podcast features NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy).

Check out our 2023 predictions pieces about the North Korean economy, society, nuclear and weapons development, and more here: Part I | Part II

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The NK News Podcast wants to hear from you! Fill out the listener survey at the following link for a chance to win a free 12-month subscription to NK News: CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY



U.S.-North Korea relations have been stuck in place for the last two years, as other geopolitical developments seem to dominate Washington’s attention. But North Korea has not stood still — pushing its weapons programs and tensions to new heights. 

What is the view from the White House, and will the Biden administration refocus on the Koreas now that the midterms are over?

Several members of the NK News team recently spent a week in Washington and New York City meeting with government officials, think tank analysts and other North Korea watchers, and they join the podcast to discuss what they learned about the lack of urgency on North Korea, whether the U.S. will ever accept the DPRK as a nuclear state, Seoul’s “escalatory” rhetoric and more. 

This podcast features NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl), Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The number of North Korea books to choose from gets bigger every year, and it can be challenging to figure out where best to start. 

That’s where David Tizzard comes in. The Seoul-based university lecturer has reviewed several books for NK News and joins the podcast to share his favorites from the past year — as well as the ones to avoid.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

 

Throughout this year, North Korea has repeatedly framed its weapons tests as simple reactions to U.S.-ROK efforts to restart military exercises and boost deterrence. It claims its long-range missile launches, sortie flybys, artillery drills and other military activities are necessary defensive moves against U.S. “hostile policy.”

But Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia, says the primary driver of North Korean missile testing is actually technical — not the action or inaction of Washington or Seoul.

He joins the NK News Podcast to discuss a range of issues on the peninsula and in the region, including why this historic year of missile tests isn’t a game changer, how AUKUS is oriented around DPRK threats and whether Australia is the best place to wait out nuclear war.

Gordon Flake is the founding CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. He is also governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, co-chair of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and was previously director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America, amid other affiliations.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

In 2019, the activist Adrian Hong led a daring raid on North Korea’s Embassy in Madrid, stealing hard drives and documents and apparently assaulting embassy staff.

Initial news reports suggested that Free Joseon, Hong’s human rights activist group that advocates for overthrowing the Kim regime in Pyongyang, was behind the raid. But it soon became clear that it was far more complex than a simple smash-and-grab, possibly even involving the CIA and a fake kidnapping attempt.

In his new book, “The Rebel and the Kingdom,” Bradley Hope attempts to unpack the events of that February day by focusing on the ringleader himself. And he joins the NK News podcast this week to discuss his findings — from Hong’s upbringing and background in DPRK human rights to how he put together Free Joseon and the continuing fallout from the Madrid raid.

Hope also touches on the plight of Christopher Ahn, the daring escape of Kim Jong Un’s nephew from Macau and more.

Bradley Hope is an award-winning author based in London. He is the New York Times bestselling co-author of “Billion Dollar Whale” (2018) and “Blood and Oil” (2020).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Tension remained elevated on the peninsula in November as North Korea continued an array of weapons tests, including its first successful launch of its largest nuclear-capable missile and dozens of other ballistic and artillery tests. 

But another development arguably garnered more attention than even the massive Hwasong-17: North Korean state media revealed Kim Jong Un’s daughter for the first time in its coverage of the intercontinental ballistic missile launch. The unnamed girl appears to be around 10 years old and may be the same one NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman said he met when he visited Pyongyang in 2013.

This week, the NK News team explores the litany of theories about why she appeared now and whether she is the new heir to the North Korean throne. They also discuss the arrests of multiple Moon Jae-in government officials over the 2020 death of an ROK civil servant in DPRK waters, U.S. strategic assets on the peninsula, a BTS member serving at the inter-Korean border and how risks rise the longer tensions remain high.

This week’s episode features Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11), Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) and Editorial Intern Yeji Chung (@chung_yeji).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

The U.S. and North Korea seem incapable of moving past the status quo, with neither side willing to concede to the other’s demands of either complete denuclearization, complete sanctions relief, or some combination of the two. The two countries haven’t spoken in years and appear no closer to a breakthrough despite several summits and other engagements from 2018 to 2019.

To Simone Chun, a researcher in Northeast Asian political affairs, the U.S. is largely to blame for this stalemate and has perpetuated a hostile policy toward Pyongyang since before the Korean War and ever since.

She joins the NK News Podcast to discuss why the Trump-Kim summits did not lead to lasting change, the legacies of U.S. imperialism on the peninsula, the momentum of the military-industrial complex, the cause-and-reaction cycle of U.S.-ROK “war games” and North Korean missile tests, why the shared culture, history and bonds the two Koreas have are the best hope for peace in the future, and more.

Dr. Simone Chun (@SimoneChun) has over 30 years of teaching and research experience in U.S. foreign policy. She has served in various academic and research roles at Suffolk University, Northeastern University and Harvard. Her other affiliations include the Korea Peace Network, CodePink, the Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea and the Korea Policy Institute.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

For nearly 70 years, a delicate ceasefire has prevailed between the two Koreas through cycle after cycle of tensions. But the Korean War Armistice Agreement was never meant to last so long, nor did its architects envision it would ever be so widely applicable across the land, air and sea domains.

John Burzynski spent 20 years as an international relations advisor at U.N. Command (UNC), which oversees the armistice, and this week, he joins the NK News podcast for a deep dive into the agreement. 

Burzynski explains what the U.S., China and North Korea believed the armistice would and wouldn’t do when they signed it in July 1953, how the UNC has adapted to the evolving security situation since then, why the armistice has so little to say about the maritime border, why Pyongyang cannot unilaterally decide that the armistice no longer applies and more.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea’s launch of a surface-to-air missile into waters south of the inter-Korean maritime border this month marked a major escalation in its recent missile testing campaign, inviting a tit-for-tat response from South Korea. The incident also raised a number of questions about the countries’ sea boundaries, from how far they extend into the ocean and when they were agreed upon to possible points of conflict.

Dr. Yoon In-joo has spent much of her career considering inter-Korean relations on the high seas. This week, she joins the NK News Podcast to discuss the Northern Limit Line, the inter-Korean agreements that govern the Korean Peninsula, what international law has to say about divided Korean waters and everything from crab fishing to land reclamation.

Yoon is a research fellow at the Korea Maritime Institute in Busan, where she leads various research projects on North Korea-related topics.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea set a new record last week when it launched at least 23 missiles in one day, including a short-range projectile that splashed down into waters south of the inter-Korean maritime border, and also sent an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) careening toward Japan.

Pyongyang's attempts to frame these escalations as purely defensive mechanisms against what it says are U.S. and South Korean preparations to invade. The allies have carried out a number of joint exercises in recent months, opting to publicize these drills to a much greater degree than in past years.

Inter-Korean tensions are now arguably at their highest point since the “fire and fury” days of 2017, and there appear few offramps so long as DPRK leader Kim Jong Un refuses to engage in talks. 

This week, the NK News team helps unpack these developments while discussing the last month on the Korean Peninsula — from South Korea’s attempts to fish up one of the dozens of missiles North Korea fired into the ocean last week and recent cryptocurrency attacks linked to the notorious Lazarus Group to the latest debates about South Korean nuclearization and the utility of inter-Korean agreements.

This week’s episode features Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

While officially communist, North Korea’s economy has been a strange hybrid of socialist and capitalist elements for decades now. Millions in the country rely on markets outside the state-planned economy for necessities and to make a living, and this has raised questions about how the DPRK could make the transition to a more capitalist economy — if it ever wanted to.

This week, economist Halin Han joins the NK News podcast to discuss how the economic transitions of several Southeast Asian nations — Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam — could serve as a model for North Korea and what lessons Pyongyang could draw from their success and failures. 

She also talks about why it was essential for Vietnam to establish relations with the U.S., the importance of overhauling the legal system to support capital growth and whether opening up the economy would be politically risky for the regime.

Halin Han is a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and has conducted research on topics including the Greater Tumen Initiative, inter-Korean economic partnerships, DPRK fiscal policies and what can be learned from machine analysis of North Korean documents.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

At the age of 6, Monique Macias fled political turmoil in Equatorial Guinea and found refuge in Pyongyang, becoming not only one of the few foreigners to grow up there but doing so under the guardianship of founding leader Kim Il Sung.

This week, Macias joins the NK News podcast to talk about her unique upbringing and about identity, culture and acceptance in the notoriously monoethnic and homogenous society. She discusses her decision to study textiles and fashion at the personal suggestion of Kim Il Sung, why she remembers him as a father and not a politician, Confucian influence in both Koreas, the principles of non-intervention and more.

Monique Macias spent more than 15 years in Pyongyang and has since lived and worked in South Korea, China, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. Her biography, “I’m Monica from Pyongyang,” is available in Korean and will be published in English next year.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

At the turn of the century, the markets were betting big on North Korea. The last holdout of the Cold War seemed to be on its last legs, and South Korea secured its first-ever summit in Pyongyang.

Businessman Charles Thirlwall was part of the explosion of interest, representing a French company that probed business operations in the DPRK and visiting Pyongyang across a series of trips in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 

This week, Thirwall joins the NK News podcast to discuss his experiences in a capital that he says was far more laid back about foreigners than today and why his firm in particular never got much going in the country. 

He also talks about life in Pyongyang during the Arduous March famine, what it was like working in a textile factory, swimming across the DPRK-China border and rollerblading through Kim Il Sung Square.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea has resumed missile testing at a rapid pace in recent weeks, at times launching one or more ballistic missiles every other day. Leader Kim Jong Un even ordered the launch of a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, according to state media, while sending out hundreds of fighters and bomber jets for air strike drills.

This week, the NK News team discusses whether these missile test events are leading to something even bigger — like a widely anticipated underground nuclear test. They also discuss state media’s first coverage of missile tests in months, North Korea’s operational flexibility, a fantastic inter-Korean art heist, what we can learn about DPRK crop yields from space and more.

This week’s episode features Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11), Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) and Data Correspondent Ethan Jewell (@EthanJewell).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Talks between the U.S. and North Korea have been stalled for years. During that time, Pyongyang has resumed ballistic missile testing and Seoul and Washington have restarted large-scale joint military drills. DPRK leader Kim Jong Un himself said he would never again participate in denuclearization talks.

To Christine Ahn and Colleen Moore of Women Cross DMZ, a women-led organization that advocates for peace on the Korean Peninsula, the way through this impasse is simple: end the Korean War.

Ahn and Moore join the NK News podcast to discuss what they call the “forever war,” what makes the armistice agreement fundamentally insufficient, multilateral support for a new approach to Pyongyang, how a flooded river in Korea helped inspire their organization and more.

Christine Ahn (​​@christineahn) is the executive director at Women Cross DMZ, and Colleen Moore (@cmoo11_) is the advocacy director.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea is one of the hardest targets for U.S. intelligence, and the country’s border closure since 2020 has only increased the difficulty. State propaganda remains one of the only ways to learn about the regime and what’s happening in the country.

A former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, Soo Kim has been working to understand the Kim Jong Un regime for over a decade. This week, she joins the NK News Podcast about her time at the CIA and what the U.S. government knows — and doesn’t know — about North Korea. She talks about hierarchies in Pyongyang, what Kim Jong Un prioritizes, what the next decade may look like on the Korean Peninsula and more.

Soo Kim (@mllesookim) is a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation focused on national security and policy issues in the Indo-Pacific.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Growing up in an elite DPRK family, Seohyun Lee enjoyed privileges available to few other North Koreans. But that all changed during a study abroad trip to China, when she says a seemingly innocuous question from a taxi driver led to her “waking up from the matrix.” Then when a close friend of hers disappeared, she and her family were forced to escape the country for good.

This week, Lee joins the NK News podcast to discuss her life in the DPRK and the many ways in which it has changed since her defection. She talks about her family’s connections to China-DPRK trade, the rigid school system, her work as a human rights activist, what she plans to study as the recipient of an academic scholarship from the Otto Warmbier family, and more.

Seohyun Lee (@Pyonghattan) is a North Korean defector and human rights advocate who runs the Pyonghattan YouTube channel with her brother Hyun-seung Lee.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korea is a small country, with a tiny economy and rigid political system, squeezed between much larger, richer nations. And yet its nuclear weapons allow it to dominate discourse about the region, give it a seat at the table with the U.S. and propel leader Kim Jong Un to front-page headlines. 

To Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, this is particularly chilling because North Korea has used this influence to sponsor terrorism, proliferate weapons and launder money, all while oppressing its own people and depriving them of aid and support from the international community.

On this episode of the NK News Podcast, Lee (@sungyoonlee1) discusses why he opposed summits with Kim Jong Un, the struggle for Korean legitimacy between North and South, why the phrase “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” is fundamentally flawed, how North Korea seeks to change the status quo and his forthcoming book “The Sister,” about Kim Yo Jong.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

In August, the U.S. and South Korea carried out large-scale field training exercises for the first time since 2018, while North Korea conducted a missile test for the first time in months. The DPRK declared “victory” over COVID-19 less than three months after reporting its first outbreak. And a South Korean man attacked the high-profile activist and defector Park Sang-hak with a metal pipe at a public event, in what Park claimed was an assault orchestrated by Pyongyang. 

This week, the NK News team breaks down these and other significant events from throughout the month. They discuss Pyongyang’s response to the joint U.S.-ROK exercises, Yoon Suk-yeol’s “audacious” plan to denuclearize North Korea, how China’s upcoming party congress could influence the timing of a DPRK nuclear test and more.

This week’s episode features Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

How far should the U.S. go to protect its allies, and can South Korea do more to protect itself without outside help?

Doug Bandow (@Doug_Bandow), a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, has spent decades considering this equation and has come to believe the U.S.-ROK alliance needs serious reimagination, starting with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula.

Bandow says South Korea is rich and powerful enough to carry its own water, and that the U.S. can have a more effective foreign policy — in Asia and elsewhere — by understanding when and where to use force, and where to retrench itself.

On this episode of the NK News Podcast, Bandow and host Jacco Zwetsloot also discuss the China-Taiwan issue, whether Beijing would really intervene in case of a second Korean War, the upshot of multipolarity, the limits of extended deterrence against North Korea and the merits of a South Korean nuclear program.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Over the last four years, Jacco Zwetsloot has hosted 249 episodes of the NK News podcast, interviewing everyone from longtime Korea watchers and prominent defectors to Donald Trump’s point man for negotiations with Pyongyang. But the podcast’s 250th episode features a particularly special guest — the host himself.

This week, Zwetsloot talks with NK News Deputy Editor Arius Derr (@AriusDerr) about the first-ever North Korean to stand before a U.S. court and his research on DPRK comic books. They discuss why North Korean comics don’t depict Kim family leaders, the challenges of navigating South Korean restrictions on DPRK materials, what he has learned from hosting the podcast and more.

Zwetsloot’s article for NK News on the criminal case of DPRK diplomat O Nam Chol is available to read here, and his master’s thesis on North Korean comic novels is available here.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Before the mid-1980s, North Korea and East Germany did not have the most robust relationship despite both being allies of the Soviet Union and their similar situations as the communist half of a divided country. That all changed when founding leader Kim Il Sung decided to host one of the largest events in North Korean history.

In this episode of the NK News Podcast, Bernd Schaefer talks about how East Germany’s secret police helped facilitate the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang, similarities between East Germany and North Korea and the lessons of a divided Germany for the two Koreas today.

Bernd Schaefer is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center’s Cold War International History Project and a professor at George Washington University. In the past he was a visiting scholar at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul and has held various other appointments across Asia and Europe. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

July was a busy month on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean government launched an investigation into the 2019 forced repatriation of two North Koreans. DPRK leader Kim Jong Un slammed ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol as a “military gangster.” And Pyongyang expressed willingness to send laborers to breakaway Ukrainian regions.

This week, the NK News team breaks down all the major events. They discuss a new decree posted in Pyongyang warning of the death penalty for anyone who re-sells drugs during the COVID-19 outbreak, ventilators and other trade shipments from China, ship activity near Nampho, apparently warm ties between the Donbas breakaway republics and North Korea, the latest cyberattacks and more.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team: Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and Data Correspondent Ethan Jewell (@EthanJewell).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted byJacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

This week, NK News podcast host Jacco Zwetsloot returns to what some call “freedom’s frontier,” better known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, for a special travelogue episode.

Ret. U.S. Lt. Col. Steve Tharp. Ret. ROK Col. Jee Hong-ki, NK News founder and CEO Chad O’Carroll join the tour of the less-visited central border region of Cheorwon, peering into North Korea and learning about the battles fought in the area during the Korean War, rogue mines, defections across the inter-Korean border, tourism at the DMZ, sabertooth tigers and more.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Threat dynamics on the Korean Peninsula are rapidly evolving. North Korea has proven extremely capable in cyberspace, compromising sensitive systems around the world and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. The DPRK’s armed forces are also adopting unmanned aerial vehicles and developing hypersonic missiles that present new challenges to South Korean and U.S. defenses in the region.

Cho Dongyoun of Seokyeong University has spent decades on the frontline of these new and emerging threats. As a major in the ROK army, Cho helped interpret and expand intelligence capabilities and understand North Korean tactics on the battlefield, online and in space.

She joins the NK News Podcast to talk about these new emerging threats from North Korea and how South Korea is rethinking defense in the 21st century. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

As Sweden’s ambassador to South Korea from 2018 to 2021, Jakob Hallgren saw firsthand as the pendulum shifted from hope and optimism about the future of inter-Korean relations to pessimism and doubt about whether Seoul and Pyongyang could ever reconcile.

This week, Hallgren joins the NK News podcast to discuss his country’s role in diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula, Sweden's history in facilitating track 1.5 and 2.0 talks, the Ukraine war and what North Korea stands to gain, and why the dream of Korean unification will go unrealized.

Jakob Hallgren (@HallgrenJakob) is the director of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. Prior to that, he was Sweden’s ambassador for disarmament and non-Proliferation, as well as ambassador to the Republic of Korea. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

June was a busy month on the Korean Peninsula. The leaders of the U.S., Japan and South Korea met for the first time in nearly five years as Tokyo and Seoul began to repair ties. North Korea blamed ‘alien things’ like anti-regime balloons for spreading COVID-19 into the country. And top DPRK military officials adopted a major military action plan that some experts said may entail the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to near the inter-Korean border.

This week, three members of the NK News team join the podcast to discuss all these developments and more, breaking down what happened, what it means and what they’re monitoring for the weeks ahead.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team: Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim), Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11) and Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer).

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Growing up in Kobe, Park Hyangsu lived in a world apart from most of the Japanese people around her. At school, her teachers spoke Korean. In the classroom, portraits of North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hung on the walls. For educational field trips, students traveled to the DPRK.

This week, Park joins the NK News podcast to discuss her family’s life inside Chongryon, the pro-DPRK organization of ethnic Koreans in Japan that acts as Pyongyang’s de facto embassy to Tokyo. She shares about her experience receiving Juche ideological education in school, the tragic story of her uncle who moved to the DPRK, how her family distanced itself from the organization and how she now speaks up for people like her family members who have been imprisoned and tortured in North Korea.

Park Hyangsu (@HyangsuPark and @baglekang) is a North Korea human rights activist and a Zainichi Korean now living in South Korea. Her story is featured in the NK News article “Activists fear North Korean human rights issues increasingly met with a shrug.”

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

When the war in Ukraine broke out earlier this year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin justified his country’s invasion as an effort to “denazify” its smaller neighbor, a striking claim given that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish. Moscow has also compared its “special military operation” to the fight against Nazi Germany in World War II, an especially proud moment in the country’s history.

This week, author and journalist Katie Stallard joins the NK News podcast to explore parallels between Russia’s invocation of history and North Korea’s own use of historical narratives to prop up the Kim family regime. She discusses Pyongyang’s dubious official accounts of founding leader Kim Il Sung’s exploits, how the country falsely frames the Korean War as a U.S. invasion and other examples of why the past is never dead in the DPRK.

Stallard (@katiestallard) is a senior editor at the New Statesman magazine and the author of “Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia, and North Korea,” published by Oxford University Press in May 2022.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.