Venezuela’s “Foreign Legion” in South Korea
North Korea has had ties with Venezuela since 1965, but in the last two decades since the coming to power of dictator Hugo Chavez and...
Ministry of Social Security mobilizes nationwide to crack down on illegal grain distribution
North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security, the main policing agency responsible for maintaining public order, has mobilized across cities and counties to crack down on...
North Korea tells UN General Assembly it will not give up its nukes
At the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 29, North Korea delivered one of its most uncompromising messages of recent years...
The appeal of “Innocents’ Clubs”: Why some good people associate with disreputable groups that have awful positions
It would take a competent political psychologist to provide a comprehensive, professional explanation as to why there have always been decent people who voluntarily associate...
North Korea’s taxis are more than just a ride
As everyone knows, information in North Korea is completely blocked. No internet, no foreign broadcasts, no international news. All TV and radio are state-controlled. The...
The rise and fall of the jangmadang street markets
In any discussion about the economy in North Korea, you can’t ignore the pivotal role of the jangmadang, the informal markets that have become the...
North Korea sees simultaneous drop in exchange rate and food prices… Due to fall harvest and Kim’s China visit
Recent developments indicate that both exchange rates and food prices have dropped simultaneously in North Korea. According to an investigation conducted by NK Times from...
What is something women could never imagine in North Korea?
I want to talk about a special kind of freedom, something truly unimaginable in North Korea. I’d like to talk about driving. When I first...
State Security Ministry dispatches inspection teams to border areas during Kim’s China visit to prevent internal unrest
As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un embarked on a trip to China on September 2 to attend the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of...
Traveling on North Korea’s long-distance buses
I’m often asked whether there are city buses and intercity buses in North Korea. Yes, there are. But they’re not the kind of buses you...
Kim Jong-un’s special train: bulletproof carriages and luxury facilities
When Kim Jong-un traveled to China recently, he went via a special train. Or, to be more precise, a moving hotel. The moment I saw...
From hunger to freedom: 30 years of changing reasons to escape North Korea
During the famine of the 1990s, estimates of the numbers who starved to death or died from related illnesses ranged from 240,000 to over three...
North Korea marks 77th anniversary of national founding with a one-day break… Farm workers mobilized for harvest
On the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the national foundation day on September 9, workers at factories, enterprises, and farms were officially given the...