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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister warned the U.S. that Pyongyang is “seriously considering” measures to “escalate” nuclear weapons-related actions in response to Washington sending an aircraft carrier to South Korea this week. NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the arrival of the USS Carl Vinson to the […]

On this week’s episode, NK News Correspondent Jeongmin Kim discusses her time at the Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting on international security policy that has been held in the German city since 1963. She discusses the conference’s focus on the war in Ukraine and North Korean security threats relating to its ties with Russia. […]