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...
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...
Secret police officer crosses the ‘forbidden line’ with a woman in a defector’s family
Recently, it was revealed that an officer from the feared secret police agency in South Hamgyong Province had been caught in an illicit relationship with...
As North Koreans face economic hardship, Kim opts for further repression
Amid growing public discontent caused by economic hardship, Kim Jong-un appears to be doubling down on monitoring and repression by further empowering the powerful state...
Kim Jong-un visits Supreme Court, prosecutors, and security agencies, emphasizing their role as vanguard of regime defense
Kim Jong-un visited key pillars of the regime on the same day this month in what analysts say indicates a continued strengthening of the tools...
Farmers struggle to collect payment for livestock
As the world rapidly changes to adapt to AI, farmers in North Korea remain far removed from the new era, struggling instead to collect payment...
The declining value of Party membership for women
Do women in North Korea go to the military? I am often asked this in South Korea. Yes, they do, I tell people. They are...
Russian military chief visits Pyongyang to discuss ideological management of North Korean troops
A series of meetings last week in Pyongyang between Russian and North Korean officials responsible for political-ideological affairs indicates an intensified focus on ideological loyalty...
In an era of greater control, North Korea is quietly fracturing
In recent years the regime in North Korea has steadily intensified its enforcement of the “socialist lifestyle,” tightening control over nearly every aspect of daily...
Security guard nabbed for thieving rice and corn from farm in South Hwanghae Province
A local worker has been arrested by police after a series of thefts from a farm in South Hwanghae Province. The worker reportedly used his...
Students forcibly mobilized for corn harvest after school
With North Korea facing more chronic food shortages, the regime is doing what it does best and looking to boost productivity by enlisting students for...
Inside the prison state
Feature: What’s it like to live in North Korea? Yumi Kim on heavy repression, secret phone calls, and virtual private networks. Published with The Signal....
Feature: The way of Kim Jong Un
How is political upheaval in South Korea affecting North Korea? Soo Kim on what’s driving Pyongyang’s increasing hostility toward Seoul. Published with The Signal. Sign...
Feature: Obscured by clouds
Why does North Korea keep threatening South Korea and its allies without ever going to war? Michael Breen on theater and reality in one of...
Pro-North Korean speakers in South Korea oppose capitalism and the US alliance
The greatest speeches of the world's foremost political orators have often been collected in books, and many are also featured online, in some cases in...