When the past became hope
Today, I came across an article with a photograph of Kim Jong-un smiling brightly. The moment I saw his face as he waved to the...
Trump wants Kim back at the table. This time, Kim holds the cards.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to revive summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. American officials told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was...
Why is North Korea sending women to Russia?
I recently saw a report about an advertisement on an online marketplace offering to supply 40 North Korean female workers to a single workplace. According...
Border residents supplied with glass for windows to replace plastic sheeting
North Korean authorities are reportedly taking steps to improve the country’s appearance by supplying glass for the windows of houses facing China. Under the slogan...
In North Korea, a newspaper editorial is never just an editorial
Several years ago, when I worked at a state institution in Pyongyang, an order arrived from higher authorities to launch a new project. The goal...
Cryptocurrency can help North Korean defectors save their families
Every year, thousands of North Korean defectors resettled in South Korea send money home to families they may never see again. The transfer chain that...
Electricity, not slogans: What North Korean women really need
If reunification happens one day and I am able to meet my childhood friends again, what will their faces look like? A sorrowful question haunts...
North Korea posts third straight year of 3% growth, fueled by Russia arms trade
North Korea's economy expanded last year, marking a third consecutive year of growth, as increased arms supplies to Russia, stronger trade with China, and state-led...
As fewer North Koreans escape, their stories matter more than ever
When Seoul’s Ministry of Unification released the latest defector statistics on July 13, it confirmed that the number of people escaping from North Korea had...
Zelenskyy says North Korea to send 30,000 more troops
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is seeking to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops and that preparations are underway to accommodate them in...
Is the day coming when the world admits North Korea has won?
Some years ago, after briefing South Korean lawmakers on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, a South Korean defense expert, liaising with the Americans on the issue,...
The long arm of Pyongyang: Secret police use family ties to hunt defectors
North Korea’s feared secret police is using brokers who funnel money from defectors to their families in the impoverished country to recruit them and persuade...
Kim Jong-un’s diplomacy aims to strengthen ties with Russia and China, rather than play them off one another
Top Chinese official Wang Huning visited Pyongyang last week, indicating that the restoration of North Korea–China relations is moving forward. Wang, a member of the...
Can technology safely connect North Koreans to the outside world?
In North Korea, information is not a public good to be managed. It is a threat to be contained. By restricting access to the internet,...
North Korea calls China a ‘brother.’ So why does it erase China from history?
A few days ago, as I watched television images of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang, I was struck by a familiar dissonance. The...
Kim inspects a new station for “tourists” that locals won’t be able to use.
When Kim Jong-un inspected a new station on the country’s east coast last month, his visit highlighted a strange feature of North Korea. That is...
Pyongyang’s lights are North Korea’s greatest lie
To outsiders, North Korea seems to be changing and for the better. More cars fill the streets. Young people carry smartphones. New apartment buildings glow...
New destroyer signals North Korea’s push for a nuclear navy
North Korea commissioned a new multipurpose destroyer on June 23 at Nampho Port, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. The Choe Hyon, named after...