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...
Sticking your head out between the bars, What is the explanation for the new Yalu River cruise?
North Korea has been running river cruises since April along the Yalu River that forms the border with China in a development that is so...
North Korea under lockdown: My COVID experience (Part 6)
Everything started changing in North Korea in January 2020, when the border was suddenly closed. At first, we thought it would just be temporary, that...
The end of free medical care: My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 5)
During the pandemic, we would often see soldiers on TV and in movies in protective suits handing out medicine and checking people’s temperatures during the pandemic.
My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 4)
Most people naturally assume that when you get sick, you can go to the hospital, get a prescription, receive treatment, maybe even get vaccinated. But in North Korea, none of that was taken for granted.
As young people embrace the finger heart, the regime is yet to respond
Korea’s finger heart, arm heart, and cheek heart gestures have recently gained wide global popularity. Now, reports suggest that even in North Korea, they have...
My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 3)
To explain how North Korea initially responded to COVID, I originally planned to talk about the healthcare system, but then I came across the story...
Food warehouse robbed on military base… Inside job suspected
A recent case of theft at a military warehouse has prompted investigators to suspect the military was itself involved. According to sources contacted in North...