North Korea News Podcast by NK News

Frank Aum, a senior expert on Northeast Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), joins the podcast to talk about a recent event the institute hosted which focused on past efforts at Korean peace, as well as a retrospective he wrote on the 70th anniversary of the 1954 Geneva Peace Conference for USIP. 

He also discusses why he believes the United States and South Korea’s prioritization of denuclearization above all else needs to change to fit the new reality the region faces and how Washington should adjust its policy now that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced he has given up on the goal of reunification with South Korea.

Frank Aum oversees the U.S. Institute of Peace’s work on Northeast Asia and focuses on ways to strengthen diplomacy to reduce tensions and enhance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. From 2010 to 2017, he worked at the Department of Defense, including as special counsel to the Army General Counsel, special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, and senior adviser on North Korea in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During this time, he advised four secretaries of defense on issues related to Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula. 

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.

North Korea claimed on Friday that a South Korean drone scattered anti-regime leaflets over Pyongyang, threatening military retaliation if such “provocations” continue.

NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll and Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer join the podcast for a special roundtable episode to discuss Pyongyang’s claims, as well as who was behind the incursions. 

They also talk about the risks the DPRK took by revealing the incident took place and information visible in photos of the leaflets.

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.

Jihyun Park escaped from North Korea, not once but twice. Now a politician and activist in the U.K., Park joins the podcast to share her story of how she escaped and why she decided to settle in Britain rather than South Korea. 

She also talks about the need to include escapees in public discussions about the DPRK, how she became involved in activism for North Korean human rights and her political career. 

Jihyun Park is an activist for North Korean human rights based in the U.K. She works to raise awareness about systemic human rights abuses in the country, including forced labor, arbitrary detention and torture. She is the author of “The Hard Road Out: One Woman’s Escape From North Korea.”

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.

South Korea publicly debuted a new “monster” ballistic missile that is central to plans to take out DPRK leadership in the event of war during a parade to mark Armed Forces Day. 

NK News Junior Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the event and ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol’s announcement of the establishment of the new Strategic Command (STRATCOM) to oversee military responses to North Korean nuclear threats. 

He also talks about a defector’s attempt to drive a stolen bus across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) last week, allegedly seeking to return home after struggling to live in the South for a decade.

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.

Youngah Lee of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) joins the podcast to discuss the progressive civil society group’s advocacy for inter-Korean peace and restarting dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang.

The activist explains why she believes establishing a “peace regime” on the peninsula is the first step toward reunification and why the return of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul is fundamental to this goal. 

She also shares the PSPD’s stance on why the presence of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula may be hindering inter-Korean relations and the signing of a peace treaty. 

Youngah Lee is the manager at the Center for Peace and Disarmament and the Center for International Solidarity at the South Korean civil society group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy.

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.

Former Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba will take charge as the country’s new prime minister this week, and he could bring a new approach to relations with nuclear neighbor North Korea, questioning his predecessors’ reliance on sanctions and endorsing dialogue with Pyongyang.

NK News Correspondent Shreyas Reddy joins the podcast to discuss what Tokyo’s new leader could have in store when it comes to his policy on the DPRK, as well as a statement by the North Korean leader’s powerful sister slamming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for calling the DPRK an accomplice to Russia’s invasion.

He also talks about a recent warning from a U.S. cybersecurity firm that North Korean IT workers who obtain jobs at foreign companies could one day become a vector for massive cyberattacks.

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.

Seongmin Lee, an escapee from North Korea, joins the podcast to discuss his work to smuggle information into the DPRK through Flash Drives for Freedom, a project under the nonprofit Human Rights Foundation.

He talks about how the international community can support the project, the future goals of the program and criticism that the Human Rights Foundation has faced. 

He also discusses his work as the director of NK Insider, an online news platform that offers unique perspectives on North Korea, primarily from defectors. 

Seongmin Lee is the director of the Korea Desk at the Human Rights Foundation. Born and raised in North Korea, Lee later came to South Korea, going on to study at Columbia University in New York.

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.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of a new ballistic missile and “highly upgraded” cruise missile last week, releasing images of the launches that appeared aimed at demonstrating that the weapons are combat-ready.

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss how the missiles augment the DPRK’s growing arsenal, as well as South Korea’s warning that it could take “decisive military action” against Pyongyang’s trash balloons and a visit by Vietnamese military officials to the DPRK.

He’ll also share his analysis of satellite imagery that shows North Korea appears to have started restoring the runway at a defunct airbase near the border with China, more than three and a half years after turning it into a COVID-19 import disinfection and quarantine center.

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.

With Swedish diplomats returning to work at the country’s embassy in North Korea this week, former British ambassador to the DPRK John Everard joins the podcast to discuss the process for others to make their return and rumors of North Korean diplomats being allowed to rotate into Western countries. 

He also talks about North Korea’s evolving relationship with Russia and what the future of their ties looks like, how to encourage Pyongyang to engage more with the outside world as well as the now-dissolved U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions against the DPRK. 

John Everard was formerly the U.K.'s ambassador to Belarus, Uruguay, and to North Korea from 2006 to 2008, following which he served on the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea. He was previously on the podcast on episode 107. 

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.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a uranium enrichment facility to inspect advanced centrifuges, according to state media last week, providing a rare look inside its nuclear program.

NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the message Pyongyang sought to send by confirming the existence of a second enrichment facility, and whether Kim’s visit was related to the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S

She also talks about more trash balloons from the DPRK, the return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, an upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly meeting and NK Pro analysis that shows Kim Jong Un observed training on infiltrating a South Korean missile command.

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.