North Korea News Podcast by NK News

This episode is part three of a special summer miniseries on the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. You can listen to part one here and part two here.

The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held in the North Korean capital almost thirty years ago next month. A global gathering of international Communist Party-affiliated youth organizations, it represented something of a last hurrah for a world that was soon to disappear in a storm of revolution and unrest.

Hosted by North Korea — in large part as a response to the South’s successful hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games — the festival cost the country billions and saw thousands of international students descend on Pyongyang for an event devoted to “Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship.”

Tobias Kjellström and Monique Macias were present in Pyongyang during the festival, albeit in very different circumstances.

Tobias was part of a Swedish delegation, chiefly responsible for playing music with his band, while Monique, originally born in Equatorial Guinea, had lived in North Korea for several years by the time of the festival and had a first-row seat to the buzz, the excitement, and change on the ground.

Tobias Kjellström was an indie musician visiting Pyongyang for the festival, and is now a teacher in Stockholm.

Monique Macias was born in Equatorial Guinea and grew up in Pyongyang, North Korea -- an experience you can read about here. She graduated at the University of Light Industry, with a BA as a Textile Engineer. Since leaving North Korea, Macias has been working as a fashion designer in countries including Spain, South Korea, and the U.S. She now lives in London, England.

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

Featured image: Tobias Kjellström

Of the many things wrong with North Korea, beer is, apparently, something they do right.

Indeed, if any were to take the leap and plunge their money into the Pyongyang abyss, the brewing industry may be one of the safer bets, due to the diversity of beers, the equipment, and proven domestic and international demand.

Daniel Tudor identified this bright spot years ago, and successfully leveraged his interest in beer (and North Korea) into two well-received books on changes in North Korea – particularly markets and private sector character – as well as a South Korean brew pub.

Daniel Tudor previously worked as Korea correspondent for the Economist. He has written several books on North and South Korea, including "North Korea Confidential" and "Ask a North Korean." He is also the co-founder of The Booth Brewing Co.

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

Featured image: Uriminzokkiri

This episode is part two of a special summer miniseries on the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. You can listen to part one here.

The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held in the North Korean capital almost thirty years ago next month. A global gathering of international Communist Party-affiliated youth organizations, it represented something of a last hurrah for a world that was soon to disappear in a storm of revolution and unrest.

Hosted by North Korea — in large part as a response to the South’s successful hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games — the festival cost the country billions and saw thousands of international students descend on Pyongyang for an event devoted to "Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship."

Bradley K. Martin had been covering North for over a decade already when he visited the DPRK capital for the event. 

In this episode, Martin tells us about the relative liberation observed and enjoyed by the North Korean public during the festival, the massive costs of the event, and why it was the beginning of the end for the Cold War-era North Korean economic system.

Bradley K. Martin is a journalist for Asia Times (in which he recently some North Korean propaganda about the Lim Su-kyung case here) and is the author of "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty." He has covered the region since the 1970s.

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

Featured image: Retro DPRK

This episode is part one of a special summer miniseries on the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. You can listen to part two here.

The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held in the North Korean capital almost thirty years ago next month. A global gathering of international Communist Party-affiliated youth organizations, it represented something of a last hurrah for a world that was soon to disappear in a storm of revolution and unrest.

Hosted by North Korea -- in large part as a response to the South's successful hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games -- the festival cost the country billions and saw thousands of international students descend on Pyongyang for an event devoted to "Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship."

In the inaugural episode of a special summer miniseries on the landmark event, we talk to Dr. Andrei Lankov about its geopolitical background, its impact in South Korea, and how the festival represented a peculiar period of opening up for the modern-day Hermit Kingdom.

Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.

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

Featured image: May 2019 edition of "DPR Korea" magazine

South Korean public opinion towards North Korea and unification is much more diverse and multi-layered than what is often transmitted by Seoul’s official channels.

The Korea Institute for National Unification, or KINU, is one of the most respected think tanks in Seoul and has for years documented and cataloged how people feel about the North.

In this week's episode, we discuss their most recent comprehensive survey on South Korean attitudes towards reunification, and what public opinion can tell us in the wake of stalled denuclearization talks and the failed Hanoi summit.

Lee Sang-shin is a research fellow of the unification policy research division at KINU. Dr. Lee's areas of study include political behavior and elections, public opinion in South Korea, and political psychology.

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

Featured image: file photo

President Trump has long talked about the need for a "big" deal with North Korea, one in which Kim Jong Un relinquishes his nuclear arsenal in exchange for a bright economic future -- and maybe some condos along the Wonsan coast.

But as diplomacy stalls and North Korea steps up its rhetoric, what does the U.S. really stand to gain from a deal with Pyongyang?

Bruce Klingner says it's time for Washington to think more pragmatically, sketching out a policy more in line with U.S. arms control pacts with the USSR than one of Trump's all-or-nothing real estate deals.

Bruce Klingner specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs as the senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation's Asia Studies Center. Prior to that, he had 20 years of service at the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency.

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

Featured image: Kevin Lim/THE STRAITS TIMES

As South Korea moves forward with plans to dispatch $8 million worth of food aid to North Korea, humanitarianism should be above politics and beyond the scope of sanctions, argues Dr. Kee Park, one of the leading voices on food and medical aid to the DPRK.

In this week's podcast, we look at the breadth and scope of humanitarian need in North Korea, the situation on the ground, and why Kim Jong Un might care more about healthcare than is often believed.

Dr. Kee Park is director of the North Korea program at the Korean American Medical Association and has led collaborations between U.S. and North Korean physicians since 2007.

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

Featured image: UNICEF

One of South Korea's most prominent experts on North Korea, Moon Chung-in has observed and crafted North-South Korea relations for decades and has extensive knowledge of all three iterations of the Kims in Pyongyang.

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Moon to discuss unification scenarios, his assessment of Kim Jong Un's leadership style, why the Hanoi summit failed, and why Yongbyon is worth bargaining for.

Moon Chung-in is a distinguished professor at Yonsei University and a special advisor on foreign affairs and national security to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

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

North Korea watchers were rudely awoken Saturday morning by news that the DPRK had launched a series of so-called "projectiles" off its east coast.

And as state media footage emerged the following morning, it became clear that one of the weapons tested by North Korea was a new-type short-range ballistic missile -- representing the first such test of its kind by Pyongyang since November 2017.

Hoping to make sense of these developments and more, host Jacco Zwetsloot was joined by NK News CEO Chad O'Carroll, managing editor Oliver Hotham, and senior analyst Minyoung Lee to discuss missiles, state media, and the mysteries of the North Korean economy.

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

Featured image: KCNA

There's no shortage of "weird North Korea" stories, but few are as unsettling as the ghost ship phenomenon, wherein dozens of North Korean fishing vessels reach the west coast of Japan, Russia, and sometimes South Korea everywhere without a crew.

If there are people on board, they are often dead, emaciated, or, in one exceptional case, beheaded.

In this podcast, we talk with Nicholas Ahlmark about his new documentary, ‘The mystery of North Korean 'Ghost Ships,'' produced with Channel News Asia under its award-winning investigative series ‘Undercover Asia’.

Nicholas Ahlmark is a UK-based filmmaker specializing in long-form documentary set in the Asia Pacific region. You can find out more about him on his website.

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