Former Australian diplomat Jane Hardy joins this episode to discuss how Australia has engaged with North Korea over the past few decades, and what that experience reveals about diplomacy, deterrence and nuclear risk today. 

Hardy, who spent over 30 years in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, shares insights from her work on Korean Peninsula issues during the Sunshine Policy era, including Australia’s brief normalization with Pyongyang and her own visit to North Korea in 2001. 

Jane Hardy is a former senior Australian diplomat who has served in seven long-term overseas missions, four at ambassador level. She also held numerous senior executive positions at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, during her 33-year career. Jane is now a senior fellow at the U.S. Studies Center, Sydney University advising the Women in the Alliance program. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

This week’s episode opens with the news of the sudden death of Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, who died at 70 on Saturday following decades of diplomatic service on the Korean Peninsula.

NK News founder Chad O’Carroll then discusses his recent appearance at a high-profile press conference with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, where his question about long-detained South Korean citizens in North Korea unexpectedly became a national story. 

Finally, O’Carroll reflects on his trip to the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada. He describes conversations with Western officials, Ukrainians, and journalists, expressing frustration at what he sees as a persistent lack of understanding or urgency around North Korea’s role in supplying Russia during the war in Ukraine. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.

This week, Dr. Joëlle Hivonnet joins the podcast to discuss her four-year tenure as the EU’s deputy head in Seoul from 2016, a tumultuous era in inter-Korean relations defined by both tensions and diplomacy.

Hivonnet talks about how U.S. President Donald Trump's threats against North Korea transformed into summit talks between leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump, and how those developments ushered in a period of optimism for the EU.

She also challenges the notion that Europe has a limited role in the peninsula’s affairs, particularly after North Korea’s direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. The EU’s agenda is being “totally dominated” by the Ukraine-Russia war, and North Korea’s deployment of troops and munitions in support of Moscow’s invasion is clear evidence that issues involving the DPRK now relate to the 27-member state organization, she said.

Hivonnet, now retired, worked in EU postings for over 30 years, including in Geneva and Kathmandu. Prior to working for the EU, she was a senior lecturer at the University of Northumbria in England. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

This week, NK News senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss recent developments along the inter-Korean border, as well North Korea’s latest event showcasing new air force weaponry.

He begins by sharing what satellite imagery shows about the DPRK’s construction projects within the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, some of which appear to cross the Military Demarcation Line, the actual border between the two Koreas.

The discussion then turns to Kangwon Province, where leader Kim Jong Un appears to be planning to build a new dam that would flood part of the North Korean side of the DMZ. Whether the project is being actively developed is unclear, though it could have serious implications for South Korea.

Lastly, Zwirko gives an overview of the recent 80th anniversary of the regime’s air force celebration, where it showed off a new drone and other military assets that mimic American weaponry.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.

This week, Lonnie Edge of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies joins the podcast to discuss North Korea’s strategies for portraying itself as a legitimate government both inside and outside its borders.

According to Edge, the Kim regime has become adept at changing its narrative or policies to address crises or changes in circumstances, such as building new apartments or bolstering rhetoric against the U.S. during economic downturns.

The expert also discusses why progressive South Korean presidents typically reach out to North Korea first when attempting to build inter-Korean relations, explaining that taking this sort of diplomatic initiative without guarantees is rare and reflects how many Koreans view themselves as one people.

Edge is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations and has been the managing editor of North Korean Review for over a decade. His work spans inter-Korean relations, contemporary Korea and identity politics.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

This week, NK News correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to recap a week’s worth of news from Seoul and Pyongyang, starting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s comments about potentially scaling back joint military exercises with the U.S. to support diplomacy with North Korea. He talks about how previous progressive governments, such as the Moon Jae-in administration, downsized the joint drills in an effort to persuade the DPRK to come to the negotiating table.

Park also explains Seoul’s proposal for inter-Korean military talks on restoring land markers around the Military Demarcation Line, the border dividing the peninsula, to prevent an accidental clash. Seoul has accused North Korean troops of frequently crossing into the South, prompting it to fire warning shots.

Finally, Park tracks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent public appearances, including the inauguration of the first “modern” hospital outside of Pyongyang, and a visit to the Ministry of State Security’s headquarters.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.

Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, a visiting scholar at Korea University’s Research Institute of Korean Studies, joins the podcast to discuss all things North Korean film — from former leader Kim Jong Il’s love of foreign cinema to what is arguably the country’s most famous movie, “The Flower Girl.”

She sheds light on the second Kim leader’s reported involvement in the creation of domestic films, including the procurement of a train for a scene, and his frustration with North Korea’s inability to produce Hollywood-type cinema.

These films play an integral role in North Korean society, and Campbell discusses how the Kim dynasty has used them to portray itself to citizens and the rest of the world.

Campbell holds a Ph.D. in North Korean studies from Korea University. Her work examines North Korea propaganda, media and culture, including personality cults and representations of North Koreans. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

This week, NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss Russian participation in North Korea’s fall trade fair and the latest in the two sides’ military cooperation over the war in Ukraine.

He talks about how over a dozen Russian commercial firms hawked their electronics and foods in Pyongyang last month, as well as about Moscow’s announcement that DPRK military engineers have started work in Kursk to clear “hundreds of different types of explosive devices” left by Ukrainian troops.

He also explains why the Russian communist party recently awarded North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “Lenin Prize,” tracing the history and significance of the little known award.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.

This week, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and a Ukrainian military official join the podcast to discuss North Korea’s support of Russian forces, and why this poses a threat to South Korea’s security.

Dr. Hanna Hopko, co-founder of the International Center of Ukrainian Victory, and Ukrainian National Guard Lt. Volodymyr Vernygora examine the evolving DPRK-Russia military partnership, which they say should be raising alarms throughout the international community, as well as Seoul’s response.

The two experts also stress that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should boost bilateral engagements to counter these developments, while warning that North Korea’s troops are obtaining something money can’t always buy: battlefield experience.

Hopko is a former member of Ukraine’s parliament and the co-founder of the International Center of Ukrainian Victory, a nongovernmental organization seeking to mobilize international support for Kyiv’s fight against Ukraine.

Vernygora is a lieutenant and international cooperation officer in the 1st Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine, with two decades of experience in international relations, academia, and strategic communications. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.

This week, NK News founder Chad O’Carroll joins the podcast to discuss the life of Kim Yong Nam, the longtime No. 2 in North Korea’s leadership who died this month at 97. 

He also unravels the mystery behind Pyongyang Papers, the website that anonymously published information on North Korea’s sanctions-evading network before disappearing without warning last month.

Lastly, he discusses U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to South Korea and the possibility of a  future summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insights from our very own journalists.