This week, veteran North Korea negotiator Joel Wit joins the podcast to revisit his decades of experience negotiating with Pyongyang, what went wrong in efforts to stop the DPRK’s nuclear development and what, if anything, can still be done. He shares insights from high-level talks, including surreal moments inside the DPRK, and discusses whether d…

In this episode, scholars Immanuel Kim and Benoit Berthelier discuss their new book, “Hidden Heroes: An Anthology of North Korean Fiction,” which brings together 10 DPRK short stories from the last 30 years that focus on ordinary citizens who quietly contribute to society. Kim and Berthelier discuss their motivations for curating this anthology, th…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a series of military drills aimed at enhancing the country’s ongoing “war preparations” last week, ahead of a gathering of thousands of military officers in Pyongyang for a rare conference on instigating a “revolution” in army training. NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts joins the podcast to discuss […]…

Russian President Vladimir Putin met and embraced the North Korean general leading troops deployed to fight against Ukraine during a military parade in Moscow last week, but Kim Jong Un was a no show. NK News Correspondent Jooheon Kim joins the podcast this week to discuss how the North Korean leader instead visited the Russian […]…

This week, Dutch YouTuber Bart van Genuchten returns to the podcast to discuss his recent trip to North Korea for the 2024 Pyongyang International Marathon — the country’s first major tourism-related event since before the pandemic. Van Genugten shares what it was like being among the first Westerners allowed back into Pyongyang, navigating both aw…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a range of missile launches from the country’s largest-ever warship last week, according to state media. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the variety of weapons tested and the risk they pose, as well as the latest on the presidential race in […]…

On March 20, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights presented a report on “promoting accountability” for DPRK violations at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council. This week, Eleonor Fernandez of the U.N. OHCHR joins the podcast to unpack the report and what accountability really means for North Korea, the evidence behind the […]…

North Korea confirmed for the first time this week that it deployed troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine, two days after Moscow’s military chief openly acknowledged Pyongyang’s involvement. Korea Risk Group Executive Director Jeongmin Kim joins the podcast to discuss the reasoning behind the shift in the two countries’ official po…

Bruce Bennet, a senior researcher at the RAND Corporation, joins the podcast to discuss just how ironclad the U.S.-South Korea alliance really is, the growing plausibility of limited nuclear use by Pyongyang and the risks of miscalculation in a changing security environment. He also delves into what North Korea military is learning from the war […]…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week for another new 10,000-home skyscraper street in Pyongyang, coinciding with the April 15 “Day of the Sun” holiday celebrating the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung. NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the significance of the […]…

This week, Cathi Choi, co-director of Women Cross DMZ, joins the podcast to discuss the group’s efforts to formally end the Korean War, reunite divided families and place women at the forefront of peacebuilding on the Korean Peninsula. Cathi discusses the group’s latest report, “Women’s Rights Under the Division System in Korea,” and the political,…

North Korean state media coverage of the first international marathon in Pyongyang since 2019 underscored ongoing inconsistencies in how state propaganda mythologizes Kim ll Sung, changing the name of the event to remove reference to the founding leader’s birthplace Mangyongdae. NK News founder and CEO Chad O’Carroll joins the podcast to discuss th…

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