North Korea’s new warship remains submerged on its side more than 10 days after the embarrassing failure to side-launch the vessel last month, despite DPRK experts’ confidence that they could right the ship. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made only a passing mention of North Korea at the Shangri-La Dialogue over the weekend, even as […]

A year and a half ago, North Korea made waves when it announced that it was abandoning the goal of inter-Korean reunification. Now, South Koreans are getting ready to head to the ballot box to elect a new president, with their pick set to shape Seoul’s policy toward a neighbor that now views the South […]

Just one week remains until South Koreans head to the polls in the snap election to replace impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, setting up potential changes in how Seoul approaches North Korea, the U.S. alliance and more. NK News Executive Director Jeongmin Kim joins the podcast to unpack where the major and minor candidates stand on […]

This week, veteran North Korea negotiator Joel Wit joins the podcast to revisit his decades of experience negotiating with Pyongyang, what went wrong in efforts to stop the DPRK’s nuclear development and what, if anything, can still be done. He shares insights from high-level talks, including surreal moments inside the DPRK, and discusses whether dialogue […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a series of military drills aimed at enhancing the country’s ongoing “war preparations” last week, ahead of a gathering of thousands of military officers in Pyongyang for a rare conference on instigating a “revolution” in army training.  NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts joins the podcast to discuss […]

In this episode, scholars Immanuel Kim and Benoit Berthelier discuss their new book, “Hidden Heroes: An Anthology of North Korean Fiction,” which brings together 10 DPRK short stories from the last 30 years that focus on ordinary citizens who quietly contribute to society. Kim and Berthelier discuss their motivations for curating this anthology, their translation […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin met and embraced the North Korean general leading troops deployed to fight against Ukraine during a military parade in Moscow last week, but Kim Jong Un was a no show.  NK News Correspondent Jooheon Kim joins the podcast this week to discuss how the North Korean leader instead visited the Russian […]

This week, Dutch YouTuber Bart van Genuchten returns to the podcast to discuss his recent trip to North Korea for the 2024 Pyongyang International Marathon — the country’s first major tourism-related event since before the pandemic. Van Genugten shares what it was like being among the first Westerners allowed back into Pyongyang, navigating both awkward […]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a range of missile launches from the country’s largest-ever warship last week, according to state media. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the variety of weapons tested and the risk they pose, as well as the latest on the presidential race in […]

On March 20, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights presented a report on “promoting accountability” for DPRK violations at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.  This week, Eleonor Fernandez of the U.N. OHCHR joins the podcast to unpack the report and what accountability really means for North Korea, the evidence behind the […]