North Korea News Podcast by NK News

North Korea attempted to put a military spy satellite into orbit but failed for the second time in three months last week. NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko talks through what’s known about the launch, as well as South Korea’s not-so-successful civil defense drill and state media’s report on North Koreans overseas returning home for the first time since 2020.

Then, Eric Penton-Voak, former head of the U.N. Panel of Experts overseeing North Korea sanctions, joins the podcast to talk about how the panel puts together its biannual reports on violations of the DPRK sanctions regime. Penton-Voak discusses how the reports are drafted, the “internal tensions” that come with this process and how to decipher the final versions.

Eric Penton-Voak served as coordinator of the U.N. Panel of Experts from 2021 to 2023. Prior to that, he worked in the British Foreign Ministry for almost 30 years.

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 will attempt a satellite launch between Aug. 24 and 31, according to the Japanese Prime Minister’s office and Japan Coast Guard Tuesday morning. NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim talks about why Japan got the heads up from the DPRK, as well as Pyongyang’s warning that the trilateral summit at Camp David has made “thermo-nuclear war” on the Korean Peninsula “more than likely.”

Then, Christian activist Tim Peters stops by the studio to discuss his work to help North Korean escapees reach South Korea and people still in the DPRK to grow their own food. He explains how he first got involved with this work during North Korea’s “Arduous March” famine of the 1990s, how it has evolved into a regular effort to send vegetable seeds to the DPRK and more.

Tim Peters is the founder of Helping Hands Korea, a Christian NGO that seeks to help North Koreans in crisis. A documentary on his work can be found here. 

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 tour company operating in North Korea has claimed that the DPRK will soon open its borders to select citizens for the first time in nearly four years, citing sources in the country. NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy talks about what a reopening could look like, Typhoon Khanun’s impact on North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s recent tours of weapons factories.

Then, UniKorea Foundation Secretary-General Jeon Byung-gil and Program Manager Kim Tae-rae (@taeraekim_) join the podcast to discuss their new research paper on how North Korean brands imitate foreign products in industries ranging from cosmetics to processed foods. They talk about the DPRK’s copycats of snacks like Choco Pie and high-end luxury goods from designer brands like Dior and Burberry, and explain how the DPRK uses such products not only to generate money but also for propaganda.

The UniKorea Foundation was founded in May 2015 and works on mutual cooperation between the two Koreas for the ultimate goal of Korean unification.

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.

Both China and North Korea have increased security along their border in recent years, making it much more difficult for DPRK escapees to avoid capture. NK News correspondent Ifang Bremer discusses the network of security cameras, watchtowers and other infrastructure that undergird Beijing’s clampdown, as well as his experience covering the disastrous World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.

Then, FBI special agent Brandon Cavanaugh joins the podcast to talk about the case of Virgil Griffith and why U.S. law enforcement pursued charges against the American cryptocurrency expert over his dealings with the DPRK. Griffith was sentenced to five years in prison last spring for conspiring to help North Korea evade sanctions using blockchain technology.

Editor’s note: Cavanaugh asked that his voice be disguised for operational security as a condition for the interview.

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 marked the 70th anniversary of its “victory” in the Korean War last week with its second large-scale military parade of the year, as high-level international guests traveled to the country to join the festivities for the first time during the pandemic. NK News lead correspondent Jeongmin Kim and senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko dissect the military pageantry and the weapons that rolled through Kim Il Sung Square, while exploring the messages that Russia and China sent by sending delegations to the parade and other events.

Then, to celebrate the 300th episode of the NK News podcast, the members of the NK News team join host Jacco Zwetsloot in the studio to talk all things North Korea and reminisce on some of the most memorable stories they’ve covered.

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.

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice, a day known as “Victory Day” in North Korea. Chinese and Russian delegations are traveling to the DPRK to join celebrations for the holiday, including a likely military parade, and NK News editor Arius Derr talks about what is likely to take place this week, as well as the case of the American soldier who illegally crossed the border into the DPRK. 

Then, Mark Sauter, president of the POW Investigative Project (PIP), joins the podcast to discuss his work to uncover the truth about American prisoners of war that remain unaccounted for after the Korean War and Washington’s failure to recover soldiers lost behind enemy lines.

Mark Sauter is the founder and president of PIP and author of “American Trophies.” He has been investigating American POWs for almost 30 years and previously served as a soldier in the U.S. Army, including as a guard post commander at the Demilitarized Zone.

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 warned last week that it will shoot down U.S. reconnaissance planes that enter its exclusive economic zone, and those may not be empty threats, history shows. NK News analyst James Fretwell discusses when North Korea shot down a U.S. reconnaissance plane in April 1969 and how the U.S. responded, including by considering nuclear strikes.

Also, an American soldier dashed across the inter-Korean border on Tuesday during a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA). Information continues to trickle out about the man, Private Second Class Travis King, who remains in the DPRK.

NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Tharp discuss what we know so far about the apparent defection, how King managed to cross the border and what he could be facing in North Korea.

Steve Tharp is a retired U.S. Army officer whose 28-year career included 14 years in Korea-based assignments in the 2nd Infantry Division and the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission.

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 threatened to shoot down U.S. spy planes that it said “violated” its exclusive economic zone this week. But South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff denied the claims, stating the U.S. reconnaissance flights were “standard” and did not intrude on the North’s territory.

NK News data correspondent Anton Sokolin discusses the North’s threats and Kim Yo Jong’s choice of words in her statements slamming the U.S., as well as Russian wheat shipments and the U.N. food program’s plans for future projects.

Then, Bada Nam of the People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE) joins the podcast to talk about the NGO’s recent report on internet use in the DPRK. He talks about why North Koreans are “hostages in the digital world” and the lengths even the elite must go to in order to surf the web, as well as the difficulties of collecting firsthand defector accounts.

Bada Nam is the secretary general of PSCORE, an NGO based in Seoul that advocates for human rights in North Korea and helps defectors adapt to life in South Korea.

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 Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced his nominee for unification minister last week, but his pick for the role overseeing inter-Korean exchanges — the “new right” professor Kim Yung-ho — has proven controversial for his past comments calling for regime change and repeatedly predicting North Korea’s collapse.

NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses the nomination and what it means for the ministry, as well as the DPRK’s new anti-U.S. propaganda posters, YouTube shutting down North Korean channels and more.

Then, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton joins the podcast for an exclusive interview to discuss his views on how to create a unified Korean Peninsula and counter DPRK nuclear threats, and why he believes regime change is not necessary to achieve these goals. He also talks about why he believes China should do more to reign in Pyongyang and promote peace, how a withdrawal of U.S. troops would impact negotiations on North Korean WMDs and more.

John Bolton has played a key role in shaping Washington’s policy toward North Korea over the course of more than two decades, including leading efforts to abandon the Agreed Framework. He served as former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 to Sept. 2019, a period that covered all three of Trump’s meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Before that Bolton served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs and as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush.

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 Wagner Group’s brief rebellion rocked Russia over the weekend — and left analysts scratching their heads about what it was all about. But will the aborted uprising impact North Korea’s cooperation with Russia, and should Kim Jong Un himself start worrying about such a military coup? 

NK News analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko discusses the implications of the uprising for the DPRK, as well as a new report on food shortages in the country, preparations for a July military parade and more.

Sunday also marked the 78th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was living in Seoul when North Korea launched its invasion of the South, and he joins the podcast to talk about his memories of the war. He discusses his childhood in Manchuria under Japanese rule, seeing his father for the last time at a Changchun train station and learning songs of praise to Kim Il Sung during North Korea’s rule of Seoul.

Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was born in the Japanese colony of Manchukuo in the city now known as Changchun, moving to Korea with his mother just as Japan was surrendering in Aug. 1945. He had a long career as a high school English teacher, and after completing a Ph.D. in recreation studies, he taught various subjects at universities in Seoul. 

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.