2025: A year of milestone anniversaries for Korea
The year 2025 saw some significant anniversaries for Korea, some of which were for the better, while others were for the worse. The best known...
Pyongyang evades sanctions to showcase autos ordinary people can’t buy
Japanese-made Toyotas and the latest electric vehicles have made an appearance in the heart of Pyongyang in defiance of international sanctions. The autos are on...
Proposal to amend Article 3 of the ROK Constitution is a flawed effort to accommodate North Korea
The debate in South Korea over North Korea’s “hostile two-state theory” now seems to be going beyond mere diplomatic rhetoric. Moon Chung-in, a prominent former...
2026 calendars reveal regime priorities: Nuclear weapons, hereditary rule, and tourism
North Korea has unveiled its 2026 New Year calendars and, true to form, they feature beautiful scenery and missiles. That is because, in the isolated,...
My life, and the lives of Koreans who relocated from Japan to North Korea
I sometimes wonder how it would have been if South Korea had not been a nation of single ethnicity but a multi-ethnic country. Would I...
For children, learning loyalty to the leader is more important than classes
Children born in North Korea grow up with the word “loyalty” from their earliest years. This word does not refer simply to moral education or...
Deserters flee winter training and cause panic in the military
A division of the X Corps of the People’s Army based in Pochon county in Ryanggang Province has reportedly experienced a serious incident just days...
Party Central Committee convenes 13th plenary meeting in Pyongyang
The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) convened the 13th plenary meeting of its 8th Central Committee on December 9 in Pyongyang, according to the...
New system for distribution grain to farmers based on performance, Not everyone is happy
North Korea has changed its method of grain distribution in collective farms, but the new system that began this fall is already causing problems. The...
The hidden secret of winter military training… Supply burden on officers’ families
This month, winter descends on the peninsula bringing freezing temperatures and biting winds. For North Korean soldiers, this means the start of winter training. The...
Faking freedom of religion: “You can pray freely, but just so God alone can hear”
Defector and former South Korean lawmaker Ji Seong-ho has related an amusing story about an ROK delegation’s visit to North Korea. During the trip, the...
Red Youth Guards, the militarized life begins at 16
Childhood in North Korea ends at 16. That is when all young people are required to undergo military training in the Red Youth Guards. This...
The criminalizing of divorce to maintain the fiction of the happy socialist society
In North Korea, marriage is considered a lifelong bond, but the cultural and political framework transforms it into a tool of state control.Divorce is not...
Air Force marks 80th anniversary… Kim stresses airspace sovereignty and nuclear deterrence
Kim Jong-un attended an event on November 28 marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Air Force and highlighted its new...
Party to hold annual review meetings early this year… Members fear public criticism
Ruling Workers’ Party members in the regions have been instructed to hold their annual year-end party “review meetings” earlier than usual and are braced for...
The two-faced tactics and time-tested tricks of tyrants
The three dictatorships of the last century which diabolically mastered the black arts of political trickery and diplomatic two-faced tactics - Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia,...
Kim highlights power plant construction…Ignores people’s suffering
Kim Jong-un last week opened a new power plant, praising the patriotic “self-reliance” of the people, seemingly oblivious to the actual burdens placed on them...
How our childhood gifts from the benevolent leader actually came from the sweat of our parents
When I was growing up, the most special days of the year were the Day of the Sun on April 15 and the Day of...