North Korea trade fair in Russia violates sanctions
A North Korean trade fair in Russia at the end of June directly challenged sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. The event, held in...
Futuristic new tower unveiled in Pyongyang
A futuristic new tower unveiled in Pyongyang symbolizes the regime’s ambitions in science and technology, but whether actual capability goes beyond aspirational architecture remains to...
Overseas experts worry how North Korea might use AI
North Korea is using artificial intelligence to assist its extensive hacking activity and appears to be exploring the possibility of developing its own generative AI,...
North Koreans forced to attend war anniversary lectures
The Workers’ Party is forcing government and ordinary citizens to attend weekly lectures this month commemorating the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 to...
Quietly undermining the dictator’s fortress: 375 balloons sent since early this year
In the heart of Seoul, several activist groups have been working tirelessly since the beginning of the year. These are groups supported by the Human Rights Foundation’s Flash Drives for Freedom, a program that aims to disseminate information from the outside world to North Koreans. One of these groups recently confirmed to NK Insider that they have launched 375 balloons into North Korea since early this year. Some images the group shared with us are displayed in the slide above.
Are the upgraded Russia-North Korea ties just skin-deep?
Russia and North Korea last week upgraded their relationship from “friendly” to a strategic partnership with a mutual defense commitment that has prompted concerns about...
Excessive security annoys Putin aides and disturbs citizens in Pyongyang
Several senior Russian officials were undiplomatically expelled from a meeting room by North Korean security during last week’s visit to Pyongyang by Vladimir Putin, underscoring...
New system to reward people for reporting on their neighbors
North Korea is taking a leaf out of the capitalist book to incentivize citizens to turn in people engaged in illegal economic activity. While betraying...
Will wheat solve the food problem?
Kim Jong-un is trying to shift food production over from corn over to rice, wheat, and barley, and the party’s daily rodong sinmun is reporting,...
Buying time to earn money
Suppression comes in many forms. There is suppression of association, suppression of travel, and suppression of speech. But of these, the most pervasive form of...
Phone flashlights at a concert: when a photo shows the opposite of what it seems to
At an outdoor event celebrating the 112th birthday of Kim Il-sung in April, students in the audience turned on their phone flashlights. The moment, captured...
Is the next leader being prepared?
In the eighteen months since Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Ju-ae, first appeared in public, her deification as the next leader seems to be underway. One indication...
When true self-reliance turns on the lights
What image best captures the core difference between the two Koreas? Perhaps it is that famous photograph of the peninsula at night with the stark...