How media undermines truth-seeking
Having grown up in North Korea where the media is so uniformly one-sided that we hesitate to call the stories in them “news,” I was...
North Korea adopts the concept of “human rights abuse” for law enforcement training
The Ministry of Social Security, North Korea’s main law enforcement agency, is stepping up education for its own officials and police to train them not...
Why North Koreans would vote for Trump if they could
With the US presidential election campaign picking up steam and, despite the controversy and legal issues swirling around him, Donald Trump might win in November....
North Korea’s Internal War Against South Korean Culture and Market Ideas May Be Unwinnable
As the generation of North Koreans who grew up familiar with the jangmadang market system enters adulthood, the state is cracking down harshly to prevent their “impure” attitudes and tastes – which include a preference for South Korean music and movies – from going mainstream.
Civil defense youth submit petitions for deployment to Russia
The news that soldiers are being deployed to Russia has spread across North Korea, prompting a wave of petitions from military-age people in the civil...
Japan-South Korea relations: the long road ahead
South Korea and Japan are two regional powerhouse countries in global affairs today. Located nearly 1,000 kilometers away from each other, the two democracies face...
Who are the leader’s “good people”?
Throughout history, rulers have often complained about their subjects. That’s hardly surprising. Rulers fear the masses. They seem to them like a ticking time bomb,...
How should we interpret China’s occasional release of detained North Korean refugees?
While China formally stands by its obligation to North Korea to repatriate escapees, many defectors arrive in South Korea after having been detained by Chinese...
Defectors step up to support soldiers deployed to Russia to escape
While news reports confirming that North Korea has dispatched special forces to fight for the Russians in their war against Ukraine have raised international concern,...
Why fight for Russia? Deaths of North Korean officers in Ukraine raises questions about morale
The deaths of six North Korean military officers in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine, in a Ukrainian missile strike that wounded 20 other soldiers, highlighted...
Defectors and activists urge Canada to do more for North Korean asylum-seekers
Defectors from North Korea and activists who help them settle in South Korea and other countries have asked the Canadian government to more actively support...
Copyright in North Korea
For North Koreans, copyright is an unfamiliar concept. That said, if you were to ask whether copyright exists there, my answer would be yes. It’s...
Role reversal: why most criminals in North Korea are now women
A recent video used in public lectures and compulsory study sessions provides a glimpse into the types of crimes prevalent these days in North Korea....
HRF announces new grants for North Korean human rights
NEW YORK (Oct. 3, 2024) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce a new set of grants to help strengthen the work of...
The dictator’s women
One day in July 2012, North Korea’s state media made a grand announcement. The First Lady, Ri Sol-ju, wife of the new leader Kim Jong-un,...
Obstacles to divorce force couples to live double lives
An increasing number of couples in North Korea live separately without divorcing and, at the same time, younger couples are increasingly living together without marrying. ...
North Korea does it “our way”
Every country has its own traditions, history, and way of doing things. In North Korea, they call this “our way.” The emotions people feel about...