North Korea News Podcast by NK News

North Korea fired more than 200 rounds of artillery shells near the inter-Korean border on Friday, according to the South Korean military, leading the ROK to conduct artillery drills in response and triggering evacuation alerts for three border islands. More artillery fire followed over the weekend, with Pyongyang claiming that it “deceived” Seoul with a fake shelling operation.

NK News Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) talks about the fallout from the weekend, as well as an announcement from the U.S. that Russia has used multiple North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine.

Then retired CIA officer Stephen Mercado joins the podcast to discuss open-source intelligence and the importance of language when deciphering new information about the DPRK. 

He discusses the nuances of translation and how artificial intelligence can help uncover insights on North Korea from Russian, Japanese and even Portuguese sources.

Stephen Mercado is a retired officer of the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise (originally the Foreign Broadcast Information Service). A researcher primarily interested in Japanese intelligence history and Asian open-source intelligence, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is the author of "The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Elite Intelligence School,” several articles and a few dozen book reviews.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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 rounded out 2023 with an important speech at a multi-day plenum on plans for the new year, outlining an agenda to push forward the country’s five-year military development goals and calling for a “fundamental change” in inter-Korean policy.

The NK News team joins the podcast to recap the speech and explain what it means, including Kim’s statement that unification is now impossible, Pyongyang’s plan to launch three new military reconnaissance satellites in the coming year and how the country’s economy fared in the last year.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team.

Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminkim)

Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.

A lot of uncertainty surrounds North Korea as it heads into 2024. While the country began to emerge from under its pandemic restrictions this year, it remains unclear when and if the regime will allow embassies, NGOs and tourists to return. The next U.S. presidential election is set for November, potentially leading to a major change in Washington’s policy toward Pyongyang. And as the DPRK advances its nuclear weapons program, concerns remain that South Korea might be tempted to acquire its own weapons of mass destruction.

NK News sought to make sense of the information by polling over 100 experts earlier this month on their assessment of where things currently stand on North Korea, and where things are likely to go from here. This week, NK News founder and CEO Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) joins the podcast to talk about everything they had to say, from why most DPRK watchers have a dim view of Yoon Suk-yeol’s inter-Korean policy to why international sanctions remain relevant even as they grow increasingly ineffective.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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 launched two missiles within just ten hours of each other this week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that state media said aimed to “send a clear warning” to the “U.S. and the military gangsters of the Republic of Korea.”

NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts (@BryanBetts21) discusses the third test of the Hwasong-18 this year, as well as a visit by a Russian delegation to North Korea to talk about economic cooperation and tourism. 

Then, Michael Bosack joins the podcast to talk about his role as deputy secretary of the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission (UNMAC), which supervises the armistice agreement between the two Koreas along the Demilitarized Zone. 

He talks about the mechanisms that UNCMAC uses to communicate and negotiate with the Korean People’s Army, as well as the role the commission played in incidents like a North Korean vessel crossing the inter-Korean maritime border and Travis King’s dash across the Military Demarcation Line.

Michael Bosack (@MikeBosack) is deputy secretary and international relations officer of UNCMAC. He was previously the deputy chief of government relations for U.S. Forces Japan and worked as a Mansfield Fellow in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and National Diet. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.

November marked one year since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un first introduced his daughter to the world — and in the process sparked widespread speculation about whether she is his heir. The DPRK has continued to shut down its overseas diplomatic missions, notably in African countries where North Koreans have long been active. And Kim Jong Un gave two speeches to a large-scale meeting of mothers in Pyongyang, urging them to give birth to more children and raise them to be servants of the regime.

Members of the NK News team join the podcast for a roundtable discussion about the biggest news events over the last month, from the Gucci sunglasses of the leader’s daughter to why Kim Jong Un cried at an event in the capital

Plus, long-time NK News analyst James Fretwell reflects on what he’s learned during the last five years of covering North Korea in his final podcast appearance.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team.

Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11)

Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

News Trainee Joe Smith

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.

Thousands of North Korean women descended upon Pyongyang for the Fifth National Meeting of Mothers on Sunday, where leader Kim Jong Un urged them to give birth to more children and to send kids to perform hard labor for the state to correct bad behavior.

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko discusses Kim’s speeches on the “intensifying” fight against foreign influence on kids, as well as recent developments with the DPRK’s newly launched reconnaissance satellite. 

Then, former U.S. intelligence officer Sydney Seiler joins the podcast in a follow-up to his previous conversation about his four decades in government service. He answers questions sent in from listeners on the role of interpreters in meetings with North Korean interlocutors, his trip to the DPRK with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and more.

Sydney Seiler (@sydseiler) worked as a senior policymaker, negotiator and intelligence officer for the U.S. government for 42 years, including stints at U.S. Forces Korea, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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 partially withdrew from an inter-Korean military agreement over North Korea’s successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite last week. In response, Pyongyang announced it would scrap the Comprehensive Military Agreement in its entirety, and both sides have since pledged to rebuild guard posts along the border. NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin talks about what this could mean for future relations, as well as local elections that took place in North Korea over the weekend. 

Then, outgoing United Nations Command (UNC) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison sits down in the studio to talk about his work for the multinational military force tasked with maintaining the Korean War Armistice and peace on the peninsula. 

He also discusses a meeting earlier this month that brought together top defense officials of South Korea and 17 UNC member states, as well as the roles that troops from some 11 countries play in UNC work like demining and recovering bodies from the demilitarized zone. 

Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison is a senior officer in the British Army who serves as the Deputy Commander of United Nations Command in South Korea and the Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment. He previously completed tours in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.

The third time was the charm for North Korea this week, as the country successfully launched a military spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday after two previous failures. Leader Kim Jong Un hailed the success and framed the satellite as necessary to “curb dangerous invasion moves by the hostile forces.”

South Korea responded by partially suspending its 2018 military agreement with the DPRK and announcing plans to resume reconnaissance activity in the no-fly buffer zone created by the deal. North Korea quickly reacted by scrapping the entire deal and vowing to resume “all” related military activities.

The NK News team sits down in the studio for a special episode to discuss the significance of these events, as well as what to expect in the months to come.

This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:

Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko)

Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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 it successfully launched a rocket carrying a military spy satellite late Tuesday night. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the DPRK’s warning about its plans ahead of the launch, as well as the return of the North Korean men’s soccer team to international competition. 

Then, former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry sits down in the studio to discuss “Beyond Utopia,” a documentary film she produced about an underground network helping people to escape North Korea.

The film uses real footage shot inside the DPRK and in transit countries to tell the story of North Koreans attempting to defect from the country, as well as the people who help to facilitate these dangerous escapes. The film took home the “U.S. Documentary Competition: Audience Award” at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Sue Mi Terry (@SueMiTerry) is a former CIA officer and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She also served as the head of the Asia program at the Wilson Center and is a senior adviser at Macro Advisory Partners.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.

U.S. and South Korean officials have continued to raise concerns about potential weapons trade between North Korea and Russia, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing Moscow of providing technical assistance to Pyongyang in return for munitions.

The U.N. Panel of Exports also recently released its latest report on DPRK sanctions evasion, documenting coal smuggling and DPRK overseas workers in Laos and Russia.

Meanwhile, China’s forced repatriation of North Koreans has been a major concern for human rights activities, with family members of the repatriated fearing for their loved ones.

The NK News team joins the podcast to discuss these stories and other major North Korea developments from October. This week’s episode features the following members of the team:

Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill (@alannahmhill)

Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)

Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11)

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.