North Korea News Podcast by NK News

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

The release of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 2014 represented a significant milestone in human rights documentation and reporting in North Korea.

Five years later, we look at the impact the report has had, what changes have been implemented, and why human rights continue to be among the most important source of contention between North Korea and the international community.

Signe Poulsen is Seoul representative for the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

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.

NK News's sister site NK Pro has for several months now been putting out the "Month in Review" feature, a comprehensive guide to all the most critical goings-on in and around the peninsula over the previous 31 days.

This week, that report's author and Korea Risk Group CEO Chad O'Carroll talks listeners through a busy January in Korea, from DPRK investment bids to another DPRK-China summit and prospects for an upcoming meeting between Kim Jong Un and President Trump, as well as what to expect in February.

Not an NK Pro member? You can download a free preview of this month's report 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: KCNA

With a second summit between North Korea and the U.S. looming and plans for Kim Jong Un to visit Seoul in the coming months, it feels like the days of fire and fury are far behind us.

But, as pointed out by a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), the "current holding pattern cannot be sustained forever": eventually, both sides will need to offer concessions.

In this episode of the NK News Podcast, ICG's Chris Green discusses a range of issues including negotiation strategy, inter-Korean dialogue, , economics, and more.

Chris Green works as a Korea expert at the ICG. He is the former head of international affairs at the Daily NK, and translated the memoirs of the late Hwang Jang-yop.

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: Pyeongyang Press Corps

U.S.-North Korea diplomacy got a much-needed shot in the arm over the weekend, with officials from both sides sitting down for long-awaited talks in Washington DC and on the outskirts of Stockholm. Those meetings saw, among other things, the delivery of yet another letter from the North Korean leader to the American President.

Hoping to make sense of the developments, NK News's Oliver Hotham, Chad O'Carroll, Colin Zwirko, and Dagyum Ji sat down for roundtable chat to discuss the renewed negotiations and what it all means going forward.

Also under discussion? Prospects for a relaxation of sanctions this year, plans for a second summit in Vietnam, and Kim Jong Un's birthday trip to Beijing.

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.

Our annual holiday shop is also coming to a close on Friday. Be sure to check it out before it's too late!

Featured image: White House

The U.S.-South Korea relationship has a long and complex history, with the issue having gained particular importance last year amid talk of a "decoupling" in the alliance.

In this episode, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert discusses his time as Washington's man in Seoul, the role of American diplomacy, and inter-Korean issues.

Also discussed? The state of the State Department, prospects for denuclearization, and past tensions with North Korea.

Mark Lippert served as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 2014 to 2017. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, among other roles. He now works as a Vice President at Boeing International.

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.

Check out the shop here: https://www.nkshop.org/

Featured image: Osan Air Base

Kim Jong Un's New Year's address this week was hotly-anticipated, with DPRK watchers across the world keeping a close eye on a speech expected to define North Korean policy for 2019.

Just a day after the speech, NK News journalists Oliver Hotham, Dagyum Ji, and Colin Zwirko sat down in Seoul to parse the address and what it means going forward.

Also under discussion? A bombastic New Year's Eve party in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, prospects for a second U.S.-DPRK summit, and what Kim Jong Un's speech means for inter-Korean relations and nuclear diplomacy in 2019.

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

Women face extraordinary hardship in North Korea, including little to no access to sanitary products and basic health services.

Indeed, these challenges are ingrained into the DPRK's highly patriarchal society, that endures despite the presence of high-level women in the Kim regime and laws and state policies that purport to make women more equal.

In this episode of the NK News Podcast, the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights' Teodora Gyupchanova discusses NGO work in South Korea, getting outside information into the DPRK, and the complex challenges that women face in the North.

Teodora Gyupchanova is Director of International Communications at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) 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.

Also, the NK Shop is back in business! We have DPRK-inspired limited edition t-shirts, vintage posters and a 2019 calendar just in time for the holidays. As a thank you for your continued support, we’d like to offer listeners a special discount: just use code nkpodcast10 at checkout for an instant 10% off your total purchase.

It's the 50th of the NK News podcast! To celebrate this landmark number, we did something a little special this week. As such, we present you snippets of the five most-listened-to episodes from this year, with commentary from our host Jacco Zwetsloot.

Since launching the podcast in February, we've interviewed more than 45 experts, journalists, academics, and officials working on North Korea issues. And while we have listeners from all over the world, we've even registered 189 total downloads from inside the DPRK itself!

So a big thank you to all our listeners who have continued to listen to our podcasts each week and made it possible for us reach Episode 50.

The list:

Thae Yong-ho on prospects for peace and denuclearization - Episode 22

A diplomat's life in Pyongyang - Martina Abergsomogyi - Episode 40

"Return from Pyongyang" roundtable with Chad and Oliver - Episode 37

A conversation with two North Korean refugees - Episode 28

Reporting on North Korea as a foreign correspondent - Anna Fifield - Episode 20

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.

Looking for holiday gifts for a North Korea watcher this season?

We have DPRK-inspired limited edition t-shirts, vintage posters and a 2019 calendar in our NK Shop,  just in time for the holidays. As a thank you for your continued support, we’d like to offer listeners a special discount: just use code nkpodcast10 at checkout for an instant 10% off your total purchase.

*NK News Subscription Giveaway: Congratulations to October’s winner, Patricio Worthalter (U.S.). Please contact [email protected] with proof of your username identity, to redeem your subscription.

Each month, we’ll be choosing a lucky reviewer on iTunes to to win a FREE NK News subscription. Want to gain instant access to breaking news stories and in-depth analysis discussed in our podcast? You can sign up for an annual NK News subscription, and save $50 by using promo code “podcast” at checkout: nknews.org/signup

Speculation is rife in Seoul about when to expect a visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and whether that historic trip will take place before the end of the year.

In this week's roundtable episode, we're joined by NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll, Managing Editor Oliver Hotham, and News Analyst Fyodor Tertitskiy to discuss prospects for a summit in the capital.

Also under discussion? What's changed in North Korea in the seven years since Kim Jong Il's death, a French civil servant suspected of spying on behalf of Pyongyang, and some of Fyodor's favorite stories that he's worked on while with NK News.

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.

Looking for holiday gifts for a North Korea watcher this season?

We have DPRK-inspired limited edition t-shirts, vintage posters and a 2019 calendar in our NK Shop,  just in time for the holidays. As a thank you for your continued support, we’d like to offer listeners a special discount: just use code nkpodcast10 at checkout for an instant 10% off your total purchase.

*NK News Subscription Giveaway: Congratulations to October’s winner, Patricio Worthalter (U.S.). Please contact [email protected] with proof of your username identity, to redeem your subscription.

Each month, we’ll be choosing a lucky reviewer on iTunes to to win a FREE NK News subscription. Want to gain instant access to breaking news stories and in-depth analysis discussed in our podcast? You can sign up for an annual NK News subscription, and save $50 by using promo code “podcast” at checkout: nknews.org/signup

Featured image: Pyeongyang Press Corps