North Korea News Podcast by NK News

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 dialogue is still a viable path forward after the T...

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 the DPRK’s push to improve its air force and how the mil...

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, their translation choices and the challenges of navi...

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 Embassy in Pyongyang, where he gave a speech justifying support for M...

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 awkward influencer hype and deeply personal moments...

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 South Korea and how North Korean beer made in the border city of Rason could s...

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 U.N.’s work and the challenges of investigating abuses in on...

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 positions, as well as South Korean opposition lawmak...

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 in Ukraine, its chemical and biological weapons postu...

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 project, as well as the U.N.’s aviation body’s dismissal of a No...

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, social and human rights implications of inter-Kor...

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 the ideological tensions surrounding the event’s new...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Fyodor Tertitskiy, a longtime Seoul-based scholar of North Korean history and author of “Accidental Tyrant: The Life of Kim Il-sung,” a new biography of Kim Il Sung. Drawing on sources in Korean, Russian, Chinese and Japanese, Tertitskiy offers a fresh and deeply researched account of the man who founded one of the world’s most enduring authoritarian regimes....

Hundreds of runners took to the streets of Pyongyang as North Korea hosted its premier international marathon race for the first time in six years on Sunday.  NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss what this means for the future of tourism in the country as the event marked the first time that non-Russian visitors were allowed to visit Pyongyang for leisure...

South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday for his controversial declaration of martial law citing “pro-North” domestic forces, raising questions about the future of inter-Korean relations.  This week’s episode discusses Yoon’s justification of martial law as a response to perceived North Korean threats, why North Korea may be taking...

North Korean defectors face a huge information gap upon arrival in South Korea and in this week’s episode we’re joined by Dae-hyeon Park, the founder and CEO of Woorion, an NGO that supports North Korean defectors in their resettlement and integration into South Korean society. He discusses the events and personal motivations that led him to establish Woorion, the various services the organization...

In this week's episode, Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses an NK News investigation that revealed a minor Russian construction company with links to a notorious Chechen strongman is behind a $100 million vehicle bridge designed to link Russia's Far East with North Korea. He also covers South Korea’s acting president’s call for heightened military readiness against North Korean nuclear and...

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has dramatically reshaped Washington in just two short months, including the world of North Korea policy. But while many in the U.S. expect that Trump will return to the unfinished business of diplomacy with Kim Jong Un, few in the Beltway are willing to speak openly about the new administration’s policies or how the U.S. should approach the DPRK — apparent...

Russian security chief Sergei Shoigu made a surprise visit to Pyongyang on Friday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a trip that came as DPRK troops fight against Ukraine and the U.S. pushes peace talks to end the war. This week, NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss what we know about Shoigu’s brief visit and whether Kim Jong Un will attend a large-scale...

A White House order suspending funding for U.S. foreign assistance programs has precipitated an existential crisis for North Korean human rights organizations, likely forcing some to shutter entirely and raising concerns about other DPRK-related initiatives that rely on U.S. government support. This week, three women working in the field — Yoonhee Kim, Joanna Hosaniak and Hanna Song — join the pod...

North Korean troops have played a pivotal role in Russia’s successful counteroffensive in Kursk, shaping the lay of the land for peace negotiations and setting up a potential expansion of the DPRK’s role. NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts joins the podcast to discuss the latest developments from the war in Ukraine and how North Korea’s participation could factor into talks. He also explores the...

Many prominent North Korean defectors who have resettled in South Korea are known for their alignment with conservative political causes, such as the former DPRK diplomat Tae Yong-ho, activist Yeonmi Park and defector lawmaker Park Choong-kwon. But author and political commentator Joh Kyeongil has built his reputation as a defector who supports progressive stances, advocating for peace-building ef...

D-day is rapidly approaching for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, with the Constitutional Court expected to rule on whether to uphold his impeachment in the next week. Whatever the court decides, it will have profound implications for not just domestic politics but also North Korea policy and peninsula security. To better understand what’s on the horizon, NK Pro recently hosted a discussion w...

North Korea launched “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles” toward the Yellow Sea on Monday afternoon, according to the South Korean military, hours after the U.S. and ROK kicked off large-scale springtime joint exercises. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill discusses the DPRK’s criticism of the U.S.-ROK Freedom Shield exercise as an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal.” She...

In this episode, Russian scholar and former diplomat Georgy Toloraya offers his view on the evolving dynamic between Moscow and Pyongyang, exploring how economic cooperation, military ties and geopolitical circumstances are bringing the two closer together. He talks about why this relationship is not just a marriage of convenience but rather a convergence of values, with both sides aiming to chang...