This event was streamed live at The Institute of World Politics, D.C. on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

About the Lecture

In the world of espionage, North Korea remains one of the hardest targets as it remains the most reclusive and enigmatic communist regime on the planet. The question remains, then, how did North Korea develop its Modus Operandi (M.O.) in order to achieve its ultimate foreign policy goal? – which is the “revolutionization” of South Korea through reunification under Kim Jong Un.

In this lecture, first, North Korea’s exploitation of its unique Juche ideology as a tool of indoctrination will be discussed – specifically, North Korea’s totalitarian and monolithic dictatorial system, known as suryong, meaning Supreme Leader, will be assessed. Second, the evolution of North Korea’s conduct of espionage during and after the Cold-War will be highlighted, including traditional espionage operations – recruitment of South Koreans – as well as special operations, such as terrorist attacks. Third, several cases of North Korea’s exploitation of its intelligence officers will be addressed – those who were brainwashed to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the regime until their defection to the U.S. or South Korea to pursue their life of freedom.

About the Speaker

Dr. Amanda Jihyun Won recently graduated from The Institute of World Politics’ (IWP) Doctor of Statecraft and National Security (DSNS) program, and has been serving as Director of the China Asia Program at IWP since September 2022. Amanda is also the founder of IWP’s Asia Initiative Lecture Series (AILS) through which diverse scholar-practitioners have presented their expertise on Asia.

Amanda also holds an M.P.S. in Arts and Cultural Management from the Pratt Institute in New York and an M.A. in Government (with a specialization in National Security Studies) from Johns Hopkins University. Her professional experience includes having worked in both the NGO and government sectors, serving as a legislative assistant at the New York City Council and as a Diplomatic & Consular Affairs and Partnership intern at the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs. She has also worked at the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) where she was a contributor to that organization’s publication: The Parallel Gulag: North Korea’s “An-Jeon-Bu” Prison Camps.

Dr. Won will also be teaching a course at IWP on the topic of North Korean Espionage starting in the Spring Semester of 2023.

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