Weapons modernization and anti-U.S. strategic calculations amid the Russia–Ukraine war
North Korea has supplied Russia with large quantities of artillery shells and military equipment during what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. This...
Reporting the unreachable: why we need to keep paying attention
Journalists who cover North Korea face a simple reality: they do so despite knowing they almost certainly won’t get into the country itself — not...
Briefing January 9 ~ January 13
In a strongly worded statement, North Korea denounced what it claims was a “serious violation of sovereignty” after shooting down a drone which it said...
The low status and sorry life of scientists in North Korea
“Plant your feet firmly on your own soil, and set your eyes upon the world.” There is not a single university student in North Korea...
“I defended the fatherland, but it did not defend me.”
Youth is not a time for making choices for North Koreans. Rather, it is a period of obligation to the state, a time when personal...
Outlook for 2026: Pro-North Korean and other far-left forces versus the U.S.-ROK alliance
Pro-North Korean and other far-left forces in the United States were in somewhat of a "continuation" mode in 2025. They continued their Congressional lobbying, agitation/propaganda,...
What Venezuela taught me about North Korea
When U.S. President Donald J. Trump ordered the military strike against Venezuela and the arrest of its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, he acted...
Propaganda refers to the country as “Kim Jong-un’s Korea”… Growing possibility of public backlash
Lecture materials produced by the state last month and obtained from sources inside the country refer to the North as “Kim Jong-un’s Korea.” The materials...
Defectors no longer able to send money home amid crackdown on Chinese mobile phone use
Brokers in North Korea who have for several years now undertaken the risky but lucrative task of delivering money from defectors overseas to their family...
Pressure on all citizens to supply fertilizer creates a clandestine trade
Fertilizer has recently become a significant commodity in North Korea. Sources reached in the northern provinces bordering on China say that the official setting of...
Unusually, no mention of South Korea or the U.S. in Kim Jong-un’s new year address
In a major departure for a new year address, Kim Jong-un made not a single reference this time to South Korea or the United States....
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...