Soaring exchange rate drives up food prices
A recent surge in the U.S. dollar exchange rate against the North Korean won appears to have led to a rise in food prices. According...
Ordinary North Koreans express optimism over Lee’s inauguration in the South
Following a straight news report by the Korean Central News Agency on the inauguration of President Lee Jae-Myung, informing the populace about the change at...
Serious accident during destroyer launch… Kim Jong Un: “An unacceptable crime”
Kim Jong Un witnessed a major accident May 21 during the botched launch of a newly built 5,000-ton-class destroyer. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)...
State Security Ministry is now monitoring and restricting military counterintelligence agents—What’s going on?
The State Security Ministry (SSM) is reportedly monitoring and restraining even the activities of military counterintelligence agents from the Defense Security Bureau (Security Command) in...
North prepares for additional troop deployment to Russia… Aims to mass-produce combat-hardened fighters
North Korea is reportedly preparing an additional troop deployment to the Russian front in the war with Ukraine. The goal appears to be to mass-produce...
North enforces crackdown during rice-planting season… Forced labor for offenders
Amid the height of the rice-planting season, an intensive crackdown is reportedly underway. Part of the regime’s broader effort to maintain social order, the season...
The state takes over smuggling, violating sanctions and threatening livelihoods
The widespread smuggling which has long been a means of livelihood for many ordinary citizens has been replaced by what is known inside North Korea...
Families of soldiers killed in Russia compensated with 30 days’ worth of groceries
Government authorities are providing a month’s worth of groceries to the families of soldiers killed in combat in Russia in its war with Ukraine, according...
Who digs through the garbage?
When I lived in North Korea, which was until recently, anything related to South Korea was completely taboo. All we knew was that it was...
North Korea and China introduce AI-based surveillance at border, share information about unusual activity
North Korea and China have introduced advanced AI alert systems along their respective border areas. While China completed its installation some time ago, North Korea...
The anti-Americanism and pro-North Korea tendencies of South Korea’s Candlelight Action protest movement
After President Yoon Seok-yeol took office in May 2022, there was immediately a rebirth of the so-called candlelight protests which had targeted and led to...
Troops baffled by ‘Drill-through-the-Earth’ propaganda push
Soldiers mobilized to rebuild housing in areas impacted by floods are being urged to adopt a “drill-through-the-earth mentality” as part of a propaganda devotion drive...
Profile of the Pro-North Korea movement in the United States
Editorial Note: The following article gives an overview of the character of the pro-North Korea movement in the U.S. It provides a portrait of the...
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...