North Korea News Podcast by NK News

Interpreting what and how North Korea says about its nuclear weapons program, foreign policy, and the domestic economy is one of the hardest tasks for Pyongyang-watchers.

Minyoung Rachel Lee, recently hired as an analyst for NK News's sister site NK Pro, has been cutting through the noise for close to two decades and has it down to an exact science.

In this episode, Minyoung explains her five-step approach to reading North Korea's foreign and domestic propaganda, discusses Kim Jong Un's communication approach compared to his predecessors, and underlines why the Rodong Sinmun is the most important medium for understanding North Korea's policy priorities.

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.

This week on the podcast, Jacco Zwetsloot, the Fearless Host of the NK News Podcast, gives us a debrief of his recent trip to North Korea and his eventful return to Seoul.

Also discussed? NK News Managing Editor Oliver Hotham and correspondent Colin Zwirko take a look back at last week's Supreme People's Assembly session, a Russian delegation's visit to North Korea, and the potential for a Putin-Kim summit.

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.

Last September saw the two Koreas sign what was described at the time as a "de facto" peace treaty: a comprehensive agreement by their two militaries to seek to reduce tensions and establish trust.

But what impact might these changes have on the ground? In this episode Chun In-bum discusses the U.S.-ROK alliance, Pyongyang's sincerity in seeking talks, and whether North Korea is South Korea's "main enemy."

Retired Lieutenant General Chun In-bum entered the Korea Military Academy in 1977. From April 2015, he was the deputy commander for the First ROK Army. He retired from active duty as of July of 2016.

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: Ministry of National Defense

Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is such a thing as rule of law in North Korea, with lawyers, litigation, mitigation, and other familiar proceedings.

In fact, Mike Hay argues that the North takes law very seriously when it comes to foreign businesses operating in country in order to create more hospitable environment for foreign investment.

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Mike about his law practice in Pyongyang, his years living in the country, and why he is optimistic about the future in North Korea.

Mike Hay is a lawyer who, in 2004, moved to Pyongyang to start the country's first and only international law firm. He now heads the DPRK team at HMP Law in Seoul.

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.

Holly Kang is the international programs manager at the UniKorea Foundation, which helps facilitate cross-border understanding, generate research and solutions on North Korea-related issues, and aims to improve global awareness of North Korea-related issues.

The UniKorea Foundation provides grants for organizations (including NGOs and corporations) working on future-oriented and creative projects related to Korean unification.

Interested applicants can find more information about the program here.

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: DPRK Today

Where many see threat in North Korea, Jim Rogers sees opportunity.

The legendary investor has maintained for years that the DPRK, along with a unified Korean peninsula, presents tremendous opportunities for investors willing to step in at the ground floor.

This week on the podcast, Rogers discusses his thoughts on where sanctions relief and foreign investment is headed after the Hanoi Summit, and his visions of a North Korean future in privatization and economic opening.

Singapore-based Jim Rogers is an American businessman and financial commentator, and the Chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests.

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.

The breakdown in dialogue at last week's Hanoi Summit was driven, in part, by the inability for both sides to communicate clearly what their objectives and timelines were.

As Glyn Ford explains in his new book, however, poor communication between Washington and Pyongyang is a chronic problem that has derailed real progress on the nuclear issue --progress that, he claims, Kim Jong Un is willing to pursue.

Glyn Ford was a Member of the European Parliament for over 25 years, serving as a Member of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees. He now works as a director at Track2Asia, and has visited North Korea almost fifty times.

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: Featured image not available.

The second summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump is over, concluding, much to everyone's surprise, with the two sides failing to come to an agreement.

In a special round-table podcast recorded on the ground in Hanoi, NK News CEO and founder Chad O'Carroll, managing editor Oliver Hotham, and senior correspondent Dagyum Ji discussed the results of the dramatic Kim-Trump meeting, as well as share some impressions from two days of summitry.

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: Rodong Sinmun

As Trump and Kim Jong Un prepared for their second summit in Hanoi, we sat down with Jay Song, a Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Melbourne, last week, to talk about the increasingly salient role that women have in helping the oppressive Kim regime improve its international image while it continues its diplomatic outreach.

Case in point: Kim Jong Un's wife Ri Sol Ju and younger sister Kim Yo Jong.

Meanwhile, human rights continue to remain a chief obstacle to North Korea's integration with the rest of the world, Song says, which is largely due to how human rights are defined, the order in which they are prioritized, and one's belief whether or not such rights are universal or endowed.

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.

With a second U.S.-North Korea summit just a week away and growing speculation among experts that the meeting will lead to a major agreement between the two countries, it's more important than ever that observers study the past.

Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani was the Special Envoy for Six Party Talks from 2003 to 2006 and the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy Development Organization (KEDO), as well as former CIA director of East Asia Operations.

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: Kevin Lim/THE STRAITS TIMES