North Korea News Podcast by NK News

North Korea may be the most isolated nation on Earth, but its population (and state) are more tech-savvy than would appear.

For this episode of the North Korea News Podcast, we bring you an important conversation on surveillance and censorship in North Korea, and how regular DPRK citizens are attempting to navigate this environment.

Back in early April, NK News Managing Director Chad O'Carroll sat down with Nat Kretchun in Washington D.C. to discuss how the Kim regime controls information getting in and out of the country, how North Koreans deal with these restrictions, and what we can learn from surveying DPRK citizens themselves.

Nat Kretchun is Deputy Director at the Open Technology Fund, and previously served as Senior Associate Director at InterMedia, where he oversaw research projects on Asia and hard-to-access populations. He has done extensive research on North Korean refugees and defectors, and is also the lead author of the report, "A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment."

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.

**Congratulations to the June winner for the subscription giveaway: "WayteAnArchitect”! Please contact the team at [email protected] to redeem your subscription.

Leave us a review of the North Korea News Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or another podcast platform for a chance to win a FREE NK News subscription. We’ll be choosing one winner every month.

**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.

With genuine reform and opening up being discussed seriously in policy circles in Seoul and elsewhere, what investment opportunities and risks exist in North Korea?

South Korean wealth managers are scrambling to take advantage of the recent détente between Pyongyang and Seoul, with land values in some places near the DMZ more than doubling in the span of a few weeks. Major companies like Samsung and Hyundai have already begun rounding up research teams to explore inter-Korean economic cooperation.

In this podcast, we learn from three Korea experts about the long-term prospects and the challenges that exist for genuine change in Pyongyang.

This week's guests:

Dr. June Park is currently a research fellow at the Key Research Institute and Northeast Asia Center of Seoul National University.

Dr. Tony Michell has been involved in projects in North Korea going back to 1993, including assisting Western investment into the free economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong.

Dr. JR Kim is Director of Planning and Research at the South Korean Ministry of Unification (MOU)'s North Korean Human Rights Center. Formerly, he was an MOU spokesperson and its Director of International Cooperation.

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.

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.

Congratulations to this month’s winner for the subscription giveaway: “gj derego”! Please contact the team at [email protected] to redeem your subscription.

Leave us a review of the North Korea News Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or another podcast platform for a chance to win a FREE NK News subscription. We’ll be choosing one winner every month.

Ambreen Mustafa of the Pakistan embassy to the DPRK calls us live from Pyongyang to discuss the mood in North Korea, share what daily life is like for a foreign diplomat, and explain why the country may be the most serene place on Earth.

This month marks Ms. Mustafa's second year in Pyongyang, having moved there in June 2016 with her husband  - who is currently serving as the Minister and Charge d'Affaires in the Embassy of Pakistan in the DPRK. Ms. Mustafa was also President of the Pyongyang Women's Association from 2016 to 2017 and has a Masters degree in Strategic Studies.

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.

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.

Congratulations to this month's winner for the subscription giveaway: "gj derego"! Please contact the team at [email protected] to redeem your subscription.

Leave us a review of the North Korea News Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or another podcast platform for a chance to win a FREE NK News subscription. We'll be choosing one winner every month.

In a purportedly egalitarian society like North Korea, classes or hierarchy outside of the Paektusan lineage should technically not exist. But there is a clear dissonance between this idea and the expectations placed on women to use honorifics and speech registers.

In this episode of the NK News Podcast, Dr. Ross King examines feminism and gender norms in the DPRK, including how North Korean women are "supposed" to speak, the way they communicate with North Korean men, and the roles they hold as mothers and educators.

Dr. Ross King is a Professor of Korean and Head of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.

For your viewing pleasure, we've also attached some of the cartoons referenced in the podcast:

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.

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.

A sitting U.S. president has just met the leader of North Korea for the first time, in Singapore no less. But what does this mean for the United States, the Koreas, and Asia more broadly?

In this week's episode of the North Korea News Podcast, we are joined by Chief Operating Officer Hamish Macdonald, who flew in from London to work with the team this week for this busy time, and Managing Editor Oliver Hotham, who had just returned from Singapore after covering the summit.

Also discussed was the surprise news that the U.S. will seek to suspend regular military drills on the peninsula, the marathon Trump press conference, the agreement's fine print, as well as the surprise "Destiny Pictures" movie trailer.

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.

Want to gain instant access to all the 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.

Featured image: Kevin Lim/THE STRAITS TIMES

When then-deputy DPRK ambassador to Britain Thae Yong-ho arrived in South Korea in 2016, he was one of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to ever defect.

In this very special episode, we talk with Thae about life as a North Korean diplomat, how the country operates, denuclearization, and his views on this year's détente between Pyongyang and Washington DC.

He also shared his views on the importance of information dissemination into the North, prospects for Vietnam-style economic reforms, and why Kim Jong Un isn't interested in unification.

Thae Yong-ho is a former North Korean diplomat. His new book, "Cypher of the third-floor secretariat," was released in May and can be purchased 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.

Want to gain instant access to all the 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.

Feature Image: Guiparang

It was quite a week for North Korea watchers. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s shock decision on Thursday to withdraw from a planned summit with Kim Jong Un, it felt to many that a return to the days of “fire and fury” was all but inevitable.

But an uncharacteristically diplomatic statement from DPRK official Kim Kye Gwan followed, and as the weekend progressed it appeared more and more likely that the June 12 meeting may be back on, with a surprise inter-Korean summit and the news that a U.S. delegation had begun working-level talks with the North Koreans on the northern side of Panmunjom.

Hoping to parse the break-neck developments on the Korean peninsula, NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll, Managing Editor Oliver Hotham, and Senior Correspondent Dagyum Ji gathered on Monday for a rapid response podcast.

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.

Want to gain access to all the breaking news 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: Blue House

Anna Fifield, now with the Washington Post, has been covering goings-on on the Korean peninsula on and off since 2004. Her story "Life under Kim Jong Un," published late last year, was the first-ever story by the paper to run in both English and Korean, and sought to challenge the 'Stalinist robot' caricature of North Koreans so often found in other mainstream media outlets.

In this episode of the NK News Podcast, we talked to Fifield about the challenges associated with reporting on North Korea, how Kim Jong Un is a unique leader, and why the foreign policy field needs to get over its "manel" mindset.

Anna Fifield is a veteran journalist on North Korea and currently the Tokyo bureau chief for the Washington Post.

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.

Want to gain access to breaking news 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: NK News

North Korea has begun to voice displeasure with what they perceive as South Korean enablement of bad behavior--in this case, war games with the U.S. and inviting high-profile defector Thae Yong-ho to speak at the National Assembly. The NK News team takes a look ahead and examines what appear to be new obstacles to peace.

Plus, a future North Korean Mar-a-Lago, a new book by Thae Yong-ho, potential inter-Korean economic cooperation, the controversial case of the Nimpo 12, and the long-awaited release of three American prisoners from the DPRK.

Note: this podcast was recorded before DPRK official Ri Son Gwon warned that no further inter-Korean meetings will take place until ongoing "issues" are resolved, and before President Trump sought to clarify the controversial Libya comparison.

This week's panel includes: NK News Bossman Chad O'Carroll, Managing Editor Oliver Hotham, and Senior Correspondent Dagyum Ji.

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.

Want to gain access to breaking news 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: Joint Inter-Korean Press Corps

Despite what appears to be a promising rapprochement between the two Koreas, North Korea's scheduled dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and an upcoming summit between the POTUS and Kim Jong Un, to many this seems like a bad case of déjà vu.

So have we been here before, only to emerge with nothing to show for it? In this episode of the North Korea News Podcast, Evans Revere explains why we should be wary of the DPRK's promises, his experience of past negotiations with Pyongyang, prospects for peace, and what North Korea ultimately hopes to gain from talks.

For decades one of the U.S. State Department's top Asia experts, Evans J.R. Revere is currently senior advisor with the Albright Stonebridge Group, providing strategic advice to clients with a specific focus on North Korea, China and Japan. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings. He has been working on Asia with a special focus on Korea for 49 years.

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.

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.

Featured image: KCNA