Women and young people targeted for “anti-socialist” fashion
Each year, as summer approaches, the regime turns its control up a notch and launches ideological campaigns about fashion and personal grooming. This year, true...
A prisoner is set free from a camp of no return… Does this signal a shift in policy?
The release of a woman from a “total control zone” labor camp, where prisoners are normally held until they die, has set her neighborhood buzzing...
Secret police use defectors in China to catch remittance brokers
North Korea’s secret police agency is reportedly using defectors in China to identify and apprehend brokers who arrange payments from escapees to family members still...
Did Kim Jong-un’s ‘credit restoration’ order work…China, ramps up investment
Chinese capital appears to have recovered its appetite for investment in North Korea. After a loss of trust in recent years due to repeated breaches...
The political calculation behind Kim Jong-un’s support for Chongryon
Kim Jong Un has reportedly sent over ¥287 million (approximately KRW 2.8 billion) to the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known...
Changing loyalties in the North Korean military
Ideological education emphasizes sacrifice for the Leader and the Motherland. (Astrelok / Courtesy of Shutterstock) What is the meaning and purpose of the armed forces?...
Ministry of Social Security drastically tightens control over the people
The Ministry of Social Security, the main law enforcement agency in North Korea, is significantly beefing up its remit and intensifying control over the populace. ...
Is China stopping forced repatriation of defectors in pushback against NK-Russia alliance?
Chinese authorities, starting this year, have reportedly stopped sending defectors arrested by public security forces back to North Korea. Instead, they are releasing them with...
Secret police crackdown underway in border area
The secret police have reportedly launched a crackdown on its own people in the border region. With information leaks occurring frequently in areas along the...
Workplaces tasked with handing criminal suspects
North Korean police authorities have taken steps to delegate the handling of criminal suspects to workplaces. According to a source in North Hamgyong Province on...
Why has Christianity become the religion of choice for most defectors?
“There’s no religious freedom in North Korea? What are you talking about—there are churches in North Korea. You know less about North Korea than I...
Border security supplies new phone detectors… ‘3 minutes, 5 meters’
North Korean security authorities have reportedly replaced and supplied new portable radio wave detectors to officers stationed along the border region with China. The move...
Locals subtly oppose Kim’s reforestation program… ‘Trees Are Planted, But They Don’t Grow’
Authorities in North Hamgyong Province are struggling to deal with the destruction of recently planted trees by local residents. Forestry officials in Hoeryong and other...