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...
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...
Kim Ju-ae: successor or beloved daughter?
Questions have resurfaced over whether Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is being groomed as his successor or not. When they...
All powerful Ministry of State Security expands remit to include foreign currency and border control
North Korea’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) is an extrajudicial intelligence agency responsible for national security and regime preservation that answers directly to the Supreme...
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...
Assault on Special Task Force member…Two perpetrators arrested, one on the run
An incident has reportedly occurred in North Hamgyong Province in which an off-duty member of a Special Task Force unit was assaulted. According to an...
Who are the rural hospitals really being built for?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently inspected a rural hospital construction site and praised the project as “a great revolution in the backward health sector.” ...
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)...
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The widespread smuggling which has long been a means of livelihood for many ordinary citizens has been replaced by what is known inside North Korea...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...
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...
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...
Dozens sent to gulag, border region crackdown dampens illegal trade with China
A six-week crackdown of illegal activity in the northern border area this winter netted over 30 people and has cast a pall over the region...
Purge of local officials is a regime maintenance strategy
Kim Jong-un recently condemned over 40 local officials for “unforgivable, large-scale criminal offenses,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Using strong language, Kim...
Why did they shout “Glory to Kim Jong-un” in the face of death?
According to recent reports from the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine, the number of casualties among North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia is somewhere between...
“Wearing unusual clothing is an act of submission to the enemy”
One of the hard-to-imagine aspects of life for young people in North Korea is the inherent danger in any attempt to follow fashions that are...