North Korea News Podcast by NK News
Episodes
Fyodor Tertitskiy: Researching the life of ‘accidental tyrant’ Kim Il Sung
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Fyodor Tertitskiy, a longtime Seoul-based scholar of North Korean history and author of “Accidental Tyrant: Th...
Return of the Pyongyang marathon and North Korea’s military drills targeting ROK
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of runners took to the streets of Pyongyang as North Korea hosted its premier international marathon race for the first time in six years on ...
How Yoon’s ouster will impact the future of inter-Korean relations
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday for his controversial declaration of mart...
Dae-hyeon Park: Empowering North Korean defectors by bridging information gap
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean defectors face a huge information gap upon arrival in South Korea and in this week’s episode we’re joined by Dae-hyeon Park, the foun...
North Korea-Russia bridge and Seoul’s call for military readiness against DPRK
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode, Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses an NK News investigation that revealed a minor Russian construction company with li...
The view of North Korea from Trump’s Washington
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has dramatically reshaped Washington in just two short months, including the world of North Korea policy. B...
Shoigu meets Kim Jong Un, North Korean missile defenses and DPRK guns in Kursk
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Russian security chief Sergei Shoigu made a surprise visit to Pyongyang on Friday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a trip that came as DP...
The existential crisis facing the North Korean human rights movement
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A White House order suspending funding for U.S. foreign assistance programs has precipitated an existential crisis for North Korean human rights organ...
How North Korean troops will factor into Ukraine-Russia peace talks
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean troops have played a pivotal role in Russia’s successful counteroffensive in Kursk, shaping the lay of the land for peace negotiations ...
Joh Kyeongil: What it means to be a progressive North Korean defector
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many prominent North Korean defectors who have resettled in South Korea are known for their alignment with conservative political causes, such as the ...
How South Korea’s political crisis impacts North Korea policy
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
D-day is rapidly approaching for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, with the Constitutional Court expected to rule on whether to uphold his impeach...
More North Korean missiles, US-ROK drills and a nuke submarine inspection
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles” toward the Yellow Sea on Monday afternoon, according to the South Korean military,...
Georgy Toloraya: Why the North Korea-Russia relationship is built to last
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Russian scholar and former diplomat Georgy Toloraya offers his view on the evolving dynamic between Moscow and Pyongyang, exploring h...
North Korea threatens US, a cruise missile test and Yoon’s final defense
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister warned the U.S. that Pyongyang is “seriously considering” measures to “escalate” nuclear we...
Jeongmin Kim: The importance of Track 2 diplomacy on North Korea
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, NK News Correspondent Jeongmin Kim discusses her time at the Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting on international ...
North Korea improves a copycat US drone, and the DPRK’s evolving role in Ukraine
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea is testing a larger version of its state-of-the-art reconnaissance drone, according to exclusive NK Pro analysis, showing that it is conti...
Rowan Beard and Greg Vaczi: The return of Western tourism to North Korea
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Representatives from Young Pioneer Tours and Koryo Tours crossed over the Chinese border to the Rason Special Economic Zone last week as part of prepa...
Kim’s redevelopment plans, Trump’s fund freeze and tour companies in North Korea
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that old and deteriorating neighborhoods of Pyongyang will be redeveloped in the coming years, according to ...
Thomas Stock: North Korea’s call for peace as a means of propaganda
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, intellectual historian Thomas Stock discusses his paper "Polyphonic Peace: The 1989 World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyon...
Opposition leader on DPRK, Russian envoy’s interview and US-Japan nuclear pledge
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The leader of South Korea’s main opposition party called for renewed dialogue with North Korea this week, while emphasizing the need to maintain str...
Dan Gudgeon: How South Korea’s language on North Korea shapes peace narrative
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Dan Gudgeon, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, about how peace narratives shape inter-Korean rela...
North Korea’s criticism of Trump official and key DPRK officers killed in Kursk
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea issued its first statement directed at U.S. President Donald Trump and his DPRK policy since his inauguration two weeks ago. NK News fo...
Kap Seol: How North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has exacerbated proxy war
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Researcher Kap Seol, a frequent contributor to the leftist magazine Jacobin, joins the podcast to discuss his recent article about how the deployment ...
North Korea’s sea-to-surface missile launch and ROK spy agency allegations
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched multiple sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles on Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the first weapons test since Do...
Lyle Goldstein: Why Trump needs to engage North Korea to lower tensions
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea-Russia ties have grown by leaps and bounds since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, while its relationship with China appears to hav...
Kim Jong Un’s message to troops, Yoon’s arrest and Kim Yo Jong’s statement
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill dives into the latest evidence of North Korea’s military involvement in the war in Ukra...
Predicting 2025: What’s in store for North Korea in the year to come
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this special roundtable episode, NK News journalists evaluate the accuracy of their predictions for 2024 and share what they expect from North Kore...
North Korean soldiers’ testimony from Ukraine and Kim Jong Un’s development push
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ukraine released the first testimony from North Korean soldiers captured fighting for Russia in the Kursk region on Saturday, providing the latest evi...
Andrei Lankov: Why North Korean troops won’t make a difference in Ukraine war
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Andrei Lankov returns to the podcast to discuss key developments in and around North Korea over the last year, including the deployme...
North Korea’s upgraded hypersonic missile, and the year-end party plenum
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched into the new year with its first test of a ballistic missile in months, firing an upgraded version of its solid-fuel hypersonic i...
Jingwu Fang: How a ‘third’ Korea formed on the North Korea-China border
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is located in northeast China, just across the border from North Korea, and while few outsiders may know about it...
The status of North Korea’s foreign community, five years after pandemic began
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world has long since moved on from the closures and restrictions of the pandemic, but five years since the first COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the p...
Year-end special: A look back at the most compelling North Korea stories of 2024
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this special year-end episode, the NK News podcast revisits the most compelling North Korea stories of the year, as told by the reporters who cover...
North Korean troops’ fake IDs, and what’s left of the DPRK Embassy in Damascus
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Ukrainian military claims it seized fake identification documents of North Korean soldiers killed in action in Kursk, the latest evidence that DPR...
Hanna Song: How to ensure North Korean voices are not forgotten
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Hanna Song of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) returns to the podcast to discuss the NGO’s latest white paper doc...
North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk, martial law fallout and Russian trains
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In recent days, Kyiv has reported that a “significant number” of North Korean soldiers have participated in assaults on Ukrainian forces, allegedl...
Kathi Zellweger: The life of a humanitarian worker in North Korea
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, long-time North Korea aid worker Kathi Zellweger joins the podcast to discuss her more than two decades of work to help the people of the D...
Martial law revelations, commander-in-chief confusion and North Korea’s response
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim sits down in the studio to discuss the latest events on the peninsula since South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeo...
Examining the fallout from Yoon Suk-yeol’s shocking declaration of martial law
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made the unprecedented decision to impose martial law on Tuesday, plunging the country into political chaos and l...
Balloon ban, border fencing and broadcasting television into North Korea
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched more balloons filled with trash across the border last week, just days after the leader’s sister denounced another round of all...
Urs Gerber: Why inter-Korean relations are back to square one
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode, retired Major General Urs Gerber joins the podcast to discuss the current state of inter-Korean relations and what has chang...
North Korea blasts US support for Ukraine, and Russia sends new air defenses
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Jong Un blasted U.S. support for Ukraine at a major army conference this week, despite ongoing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. ...
Sean King: Why Trump’s reelection could see Kim Jong Un visit the White House
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, former U.S. government official and scholar Sean King joins the podcast to discuss what Washington’s foreign policy is likely ...
How North Korean troops in Russia have changed peninsula dynamics
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
Minjung Kim: The Ten Principles that govern the lives of North Koreans
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
Fake news about North Korean troops, and a Russian attack on ROK websites
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
What Donald Trump’s return means for North Korea and Kim Jong Un
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
North Korea’s new missile, fighting in Kursk and the end of the Juche calendar
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
Bruce Klingner: What a second Trump presidency would mean for the peninsula
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
North Korean soldiers in Kursk, ROK retaliation and propaganda leaflets in Seoul
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Editor’s note: Starting Nov. 21, our full-length episodes with special guests will only be available to NK News subscribers. This shift allows us to...
Roman Husarski: How North Koreans practice religion in the atheistic state
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea is infamously intolerant of religion, harshly cracking down on faith as a potential threat to the regime. But that doesn’t mean the offi...
Examining evidence of North Korean troop deployments to the war in Ukraine
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea has deployed troops to assist Russian forces in Ukraine, the ROK presidential office asserted last week, with Seoul’s spy agency publish...
Frank Aum: Why North Korea’s claims should be taken at face value
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Aum, a senior expert on Northeast Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), joins the podcast to talk about a recent event the institute hoste...
Breaking down North Korea’s claims about alleged South Korean drone incursion
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea claimed on Friday that a South Korean drone scattered anti-regime leaflets over Pyongyang, threatening military retaliation if such “pro...
Jihyun Park: A woman’s journey from North Korea to British politics
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jihyun Park escaped from North Korea, not once but twice. Now a politician and activist in the U.K., Park joins the podcast to share her story of how ...
Seoul’s ‘monster missile’ and a defector’s attempt to return to North Korea
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Korea publicly debuted a new “monster” ballistic missile that is central to plans to take out DPRK leadership in the event of war during a p...
Youngah Lee: Why a ‘peace regime’ must come before unification with North Korea
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Youngah Lee of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) joins the podcast to discuss the progressive civil society group’s advocacy fo...
Japan’s new leader, Kim Yo Jong slams Zelensky and advisory on DPRK IT workers
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba will take charge as the country’s new prime minister this week, and he could bring a new approach to...
Seongmin Lee: How USB flash drives can empower North Koreans
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Seongmin Lee, an escapee from North Korea, joins the podcast to discuss his work to smuggle information into the DPRK through Flash Drives for Freedom...
New North Korean missile, Vietnamese visitors and more trash balloons
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of a new ballistic missile and “highly upgraded” cruise missile last week, releasing images of the l...
John Everard: Deciphering rumors about return of more diplomats to North Korea
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Swedish diplomats returning to work at the country’s embassy in North Korea this week, former British ambassador to the DPRK John Everard joins...
North Korea’s secret uranium enrichment site, a Swedish return and more
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a uranium enrichment facility to inspect advanced centrifuges, according to state media last week, providing a ...
David Fields: What road traffic reveals about North Korea’s economy
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A recent undergraduate research project used satellite imagery to analyze the number of cars on the streets of North Korea’s second-biggest city, an...
North Korea’s new naval base, Seoul’s pro-nuke defense chief and trash balloons
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently inspected a site for a new naval base, revealing plans to construct a port capable of operating “large, mod...
Bo Ram Kwon: How cooperation with Russia has emboldened North Korea
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cooperation between North Korea and Russia across various sectors has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with major implications for the ...
North Korea’s foundation day, top diplomat at UN and return of foreign teachers
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea appears to be preparing for a large-scale outdoor concert in Pyongyang to celebrate the country’s foundation day on Sept. 9, according t...
Decker Eveleth: Scrutinizing North Korea’s nuclear missiles from the sky
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Research analyst Decker Eveleth joins the podcast to discuss where exactly North Korea’s missile program stands today, and why it presents a securit...
North Korea’s new suicide drones, and Russian students in Pyongyang
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected new “suicide drones” and urged production of small drones that ordinary troops can use against “any en...
Marcel Dirsus: What makes North Korea’s dictatorship unique from others
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In his newly published book, “How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive,” political scientist Marcel Dirsus examines the workings and malfunctions...
Yoon’s new vision for unification with North Korea and US-ROK summer drills
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a speech on Liberation Day, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol embraced a new vision of unification that seeks to “extend freedom” to the suf...
Rob York: How the Global South views North Korean human rights
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Global South has continued to grow in political importance in recent years, as the U.S., China and Russia battle for influence among countries in ...
North Korea expert arrested for spying, and overachieving DPRK Olympians
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea only sent 14 athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics, its first Summer Games in eight years, but its small contingent managed to take ho...
Donald Kirk: How Seoul secretly paid for a summit with North Korea
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Almost a quarter century ago, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung traveled to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for the first-ever int...
North Korean missiles to border, catastrophic floods and arms factory expansion
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech at a large-scale military event on Sunday where he handed over more than 250 missile launchers to the fr...
Ed Pulford: Discovering the city where North Korea, China and Russia collide
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Pulford joins the podcast to discuss his new book “Past Progress: Time and Politics at the Borders of China, Russia, and Korea,” which examines...
North Korea’s Olympic hopes, a $10M FBI bounty and a fond farewell
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea’s 16-athlete contingent descended upon Paris for the Olympic Games last week, competing in events such as table tennis, wrestling and di...
Roundtable: What to make of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry’s indictment
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. has charged prominent North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and White House official, with allegedly working for South Korean...
ROK turns up loudspeakers, a North Korean diplomat’s testimony and defector art
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Korea restarted “full-scale” propaganda broadcasts from border loudspeakers this week in retaliation over North Korea’s ninth trash balloo...
Kim Jaechun: Why unification is only possible with North Korean people’s support
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Jong Un’s announcement of a new policy rejecting reunification has sparked considerable debate among North Korea watchers. This week, Kim Jaechu...
Kim Yo Jong threats, a North Korean eatery in Mongolia and aid workers return
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The North Korean leader’s sister warned that South Korea will pay “a very high price” after North Korean authorities discovered more ROK-origin ...
Park Hyangsu: Why North Korea’s unification rejection shocked Koreans in Japan
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Park Hyangsu, who was born and raised in Japan in a pro-DPRK enclave of ethnic Koreans, joins the podcast for a second time to discuss how this group ...
Kim Yo Jong slams ROK border drills, Russian kids to visit North Korea
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister condemned South Korea’s resumption of live-fire drills along the inter-Korean border as a tactic to distract the pub...
John Linton: Why Korean reunification could happen tomorrow
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Linton, also known by his Korean name Ihn Yo-han, first visited North Korea with his mother as part of efforts to eradicate tuberculosis in the c...
North Korea’s plenum, new Kim Jong Un pins and rumors of DPRK troops in Ukraine
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea held a major plenary session of the Workers’ Party of Korea this week, with leader Kim Jong Un presiding over the meeting. Photos publis...
Eric Foley: Why it’s better to launch balloons into North Korea under the radar
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched balloons toward the South for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, bringing the total number of launches to seven since May as t...
More North Korean balloons and border incursions after Kim-Putin summit
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea launched a sixth round of trash balloons toward the South on Tuesday night, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the latest in a ...
NK News Team: Deciphering North Korea’s new treaty with Russia
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After arriving late, Russian leader Vladimir Putin kicked off his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Wednesday. In addition t...
Putin’s looming visit to North Korea, inter-Korean border tensions and more
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set to touch down in Pyongyang for a “friendly state visit” from June 18 to 19, according to the Kremlin. During ...
Daniel Pinkston: How North Korea uses technology to control its citizens
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Following a barrage of balloon launches across the inter-Korean border, North Korea analyst Daniel Pinkston joins the podcast to discuss why North Kor...
ROK restarts propaganda loudspeakers, and North Korean construction inside DMZ
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea bombarded the South with hundreds more waste-carrying balloons over the weekend, leading Seoul to set up loudspeakers along the border and...
Peter Moody: North Korean pop propaganda, girl groups and lyric revisionism
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When North Korea released a new song praising leader Kim Jong Un in April, the regime was likely not expecting it to go viral around the world. D...
North Korean trash balloons, Kim Yo Jong snark and Seoul’s loudspeaker threats
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea has launched around 1,000 balloons toward the South since last week, each carrying around 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of waste, including cig...
Why the US seeks dialogue with North Korea on human rights – Ep. 344
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea failed this week to place a spy satellite into orbit for the third time in four attempts since last year, after a carrier rocket exploded ...
The surprising similarities between North Korea and Taiwan – Ep. 343
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in released a lengthy memoir this week focusing on his foreign and defense policies and diplomacy with North Ko...
How North Korea uses feature films as a social weapon – Ep. 342
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held his first comprehensive press conference in 21 months last week, during which he discussed Seoul’s relatio...
What Russia has to gain by killing the UN panel on North Korea – Ep. 341
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In recent weeks, the mandate of the U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions against North Korea expired. Evidence...
Why North Korea has embraced sustainable development – Ep. 340
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean trade with its top economic partner China rebounded in March to nearly $160 million, in the latest sign of strength in bilateral exchange...
One man’s mission to map all of North Korea – Ep. 339
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led a salvo missile launch to test the country’s “Nuclear Trigger’ system” for the first time this week. NK Ne...
The ups and downs of negotiating with North Koreans – Ep. 338
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With the end of the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea fast approaching, NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) sits down in the studio to disc...
North Korea’s impact on the South Korean general election – Ep. 337
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Koreans head to the polls on April 10 to cast their votes in the general election to choose their next legislators. The NK News team sits down i...