North Korean workers investigated for murder after China labor protest
Several North Korean workers have been repatriated and remain under investigation on possible murder charges after protests at an industrial complex in China erupted in...
Secret police start annual propaganda performances
Propaganda teams organized by the secret police this month started touring the provinces and staging performances about attempted coups to educate the public in how...
North Korea adopts the concept of “human rights abuse” for law enforcement training
The Ministry of Social Security, North Korea’s main law enforcement agency, is stepping up education for its own officials and police to train them not...
Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Fund, “Using the Dead to Exploit the Living”
The bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leaders who died in 1994 and 2011 respectively, are enshrined in the...
Defectors Prefer a Preemptive Strike to Remove Kim Jong Un but Speaking Softly and Carrying a Big Stick is the Wiser Strategy
One of the options for dealing with North Korea’s military provocations is a preemptive strike, on military targets and/or on Kim Jong Un himself. Given what could go wrong, this is a scary idea, especially for those of us living close by in South Korea. It also appears somehow undemocratic or certainly unpeaceful for a democracy to even consider it. Furthermore, why advocate war in a situation where war has been avoided for 70 years?
Secret Police Intensifies Pressure on Defectors’ Families
The secret police in North Korea has increased surveillance and suppression of families of people known to have defected to South Korea. Defectors say they have been receiving more worrying news about their relatives since Kim Jong Un re-framed South Korea as the North’s number one enemy on January 15.
North Korea’s Internal War Against South Korean Culture and Market Ideas May Be Unwinnable
As the generation of North Koreans who grew up familiar with the jangmadang market system enters adulthood, the state is cracking down harshly to prevent their “impure” attitudes and tastes – which include a preference for South Korean music and movies – from going mainstream.
Provincial Governments Tap Wealthy Traders to Donate for Regional Development
Provincial governments are conducting a donation campaign targeting wealthy merchants to fund local development projects, according to sources in North Korea.
Workers’ Party Directive Instructs Diplomats to Gain Chinese Recognition of North Korea as a Nuclear Power
With its confidence boosted by recently strengthened ties with Russia, North Korea is setting its sights on recognition by China of its status as a nuclear power.
Hundreds of North Korean Defectors Repatriated by China Face Miserable Fate
Chinese authorities captured North Korean defectors fleeing from human rights abuses and forcibly sent them back to North Korea, where they often face severe repercussions.
Speculation About Kim Ju Ae’s Succession in North Korea Is Premature and Unsubstantiated
Recently, Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, has received a lot of international media attention, and on January 4, 2024, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) determined that she is Kim Jong Un’s “most likely successor.”
Speculation about the third succession within North Korea’s ruling family – fueled by hype and arbitrary interpretations – has been treated as if it were an established fact by both South Korean and international media.
However, North Koreans interviewed for this article are skeptical.
DPRK’s Reorganized Military Automation General Bureau to Manage Integrated Computerized Command Network for Entire Armed Forces
Recently, the North Korean military appears to have promoted the “Command Automation Bureau” under the General Staff to the “Military Automation General Bureau” as a solution to establish and manage an integrated computer system for the entire armed forces in light of the new deployment of strategic units within the military.
North Korean soldiers no longer believe war propaganda
The bellicose posture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is stoking the flames of war. But morale in the Korean People's Army is low and...