North Korea News Podcast by NK News
Episodes
Exploring North Korea from south of the DMZ – NKNews Podcast Ep. 237
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When North Korea imposed strict pandemic border controls in Jan. 2020, the country simultaneously closed its door to international tourists and suspen...
North Korea reports first-ever COVID-19 outbreak – NKNews Podcast Ep. 236
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two and a half years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea reported its first outbreak on May 12, with cases of “fever” quickly surpassin...
Exploring North Korean art in Africa – NKNews Podcast Ep. 235
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Several North Korean statues and other works of art are scattered across the African continent, a persistent presence that demonstrates North Korean i...
Visiting a remote island on North Korea’s doorstep – NKNews Podcast Ep. 234
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A four-hour ferry ride from South Korea’s west coast takes one to a remote island so far north that it seems like it would be in North Korea. Yet Ba...
The complexities of solving the North Korea issue – NKNews Podcast Ep. 233
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. and South Korea have been trying to solve the North Korea nuclear issue for decades, yet Pyongyang continues to advance its weapons programs....
What Kim Il Sung shares with Hitler, Mao and Stalin – NKNews Podcast Ep. 232
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea celebrated the 110th birthday of Kim Il Sung in grand fashion last week, with thousands of pom-pom-waving citizens spelling out the foundi...
The first American to visit North Korea’s nuclear plant – NKNews Podcast Ep. 231
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Yongbyon complex located some 60 miles north of Pyongyang has been the center of North Korea’s nuclear program for decades, producing fissile ma...
Why North Koreans don’t have time to pursue hobbies – NKNews Podcast Ep. 230
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A unique characteristic of North Korean life is that almost all citizens must be a member of an organization. This begins at a young age, when kinderg...
North Korea’s ICBM test and what comes next – NKNews Podcast Ep. 229
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea tested one of its biggest weapons for the first time in years last week, launching a long-range missile that soared 15 times higher than t...
North Korea goes viral on YouTube – NKNews Podcast Ep. 228
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no shortage of YouTube content on North Korea, from straightforward news reports on the latest missile launch to over-the-top travelogues pr...
A Swiss mountain lover explores North Korea’s peaks – NKNews Podcast Ep. 227
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mountains loom large in North Korea, not only dominating the topography but also much of the political symbolism of the regime. The country’s histor...
Is North Korea’s ultimate goal to conquer the South? – NKNews Podcast Ep. 226
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Journalists, experts and pundits have devoted significant time and energy to deciphering Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in late Februar...
How North Korea has responded to the war in Ukraine – NKNews Podcast Ep. 225
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine may be half a world away from the Korean Peninsula, but the implications of the two-week-old conflict are alre...
Tracking state killings under Kim Jong Un – NKNews Podcast Ep. 224
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During Kim Jong Un’s first decade in power, the North Korean state has executed at least 23 people for crimes ranging from prostitution and “obsce...
The Unification movement and opening up North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 223
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tom McDevitt discusses Sun Myung Moon’s meeting with Kim Il Sung in 1991 and the importance of engaging North Korea. On the surface, the anti-commun...
The man who invented North Korea’s Juche ideology – NKNews Podcast Ep. 222
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More than 20 years ago, the senior North Korean official Hwang Jang-yop walked into the South Korean Embassy in China and declared his intention to de...
A journalist detained in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 221
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes had wrapped up a reporting trip in North Korea and was about to board a flight out of the country when the ordeal started. The ...
Why is North Korea testing so many missiles? – NKNews Podcast Ep. 220
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea rang in the lunar new year with a dramatic fireworks display this week, testing a ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory...
The ‘rookie mistakes’ of Trump-Kim diplomacy – NKNews Podcast Ep. 219
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since the breakdown of talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump at Hanoi in 2018, prospects for denucleariza...
Missile tests, train shipments and redefection, oh my! – NKNews Podcast Ep. 218
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The new year has been an eventful one so far for North Korea watchers. Pyongyang has already test-launched missiles on four separate occasions. A defe...
Unification ministry veterans promoting Korean peace – NKNews Podcast Ep. 217
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unification remains the official goal of inter-Korean policy on both sides of the Korean Peninsula, and the new Council on Diplomacy for Korean Unific...
Opening the first US news bureau in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 216
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This January marks 10 years since the Associated Press became the first U.S. news agency to establish a bureau in Pyongyang. The opening gave the orga...
The biggest North Korea stories of 2021 – NKNews Podcast Ep. 215
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea began 2021 with a major party conference and is now ending it with a multi-day plenum. Somewhere in the between, a lot else happened: Disi...
Seeing past North Korean propaganda – NKNews Podcast Ep. 214
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
CNN International Correspondent Will Ripley has visited North Korea a whopping 19 times since 2014, reporting on missile launches and nuclear tests wh...
Broadcasting live from Pyongyang – NKNews Podcast Ep. 213
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In his 24 years as a correspondent for CNN, Mike Chinoy had the opportunity to cover key moments in North Korean history from inside the country, from...
Has ‘Squid Game’ been smuggled into North Korea? – NKNews Podcast Ep. 212
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, there have been reports that the Netflix hit “Squid Game” has made it into North Korea, and even that authorities have sentenced a man t...
The dangerous appeal of North Korean culture – NKNews Podcast Ep. 211
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
North Korean propagandists have churned out a steady stream of cultural products for domestic and foreign audiences over the years — from films, TV ...
North Korea’s response to global warming – NKNews Podcast Ep. 210
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A North Korean delegation recently joined the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, one of the first times DPRK representatives have atte...
Female breadwinners in North Korean households – NKNews Podcast Ep. 209
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Arduous March famine of the 1990s forced many North Korean women to engage in informal economic activity to support their families, even as the st...
North Korea rumblings in European capitals – NKNews Podcast Ep. 208
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
South Korean President Moon Jae-in traveled to Europe late last month to attend the G-20 summit in Rome and COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, among othe...
The many lives of Yeonmi Park – NKNews Podcast Ep. 207
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Yeonmi Park burst onto the scene at the One Young World Summit in Dublin in 2014, when she recounted her life story and appealed for action on North K...
Investigating the Daejeon Massacre – NKNews Podcast Ep. 206
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, South Korean forces killed thousands of political prisoners in Daejeon to prevent them from...
Repatriating US soldiers’ remains from North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 205
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than 7,600 Americans are still missing from the Korean War, according to the U.S. government. While North Korea returned some U.S. servicemembers...
North Korean human rights abuses and reunification – NKNews Podcast Ep. 204
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nam Bada joins the podcast to talk about PSCORE (People for Successful Corean Reunification), how his organization helps defectors adjust to South Kor...
A freewheeling, ‘Ask Me Anything’ special – NKNews Podcast Ep. 203
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A full roster of NK News journalists and contributors joins the podcast this week for a special Ask Me Anything roundtable discussion in celebration o...
The shared future of the two Koreas – NKNews Podcast Ep. 202
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scholars Mason Richey and David Tizzard join the podcast to discuss their new academic volume “The Future of the Korean Peninsula: Korea 2032 and B...
North Korean nukes, sanctions and the United Nations – NKNews Podcast Ep. 201
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Maiko Takeuchi joins the podcast to discuss her role in the United Nations (U.N.) Panel of Experts (PoE), which analyzes information for reports on No...
A 200th episode roundtable – NKNews Podcast Ep. 200
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week marks the release of the NK News podcast’s 200th episode. As though to celebrate the occasion, the DPRK has produced a number of newsworth...
A Canadian detained in China – NKNews Podcast Ep. 199
05 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Aug. 2014, Chinese state security personnel arrested the Canadian couple Kevin and Julia Garratt at a restaurant in the northeastern city of Dandon...
Creativity and propaganda in North Korean music – NKNews Podcast Ep. 198
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music is an omnipresent part of North Korean life, from the eerie electronic ballad that plays every morning in Pyongyang to the propaganda tunes sung...
Failing to foresee China’s entry into the Korean War – NKNews Podcast Ep. 197
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Less than three months after the outbreak of the Korean War, U.N. and ROK troops made their now-famous amphibious landing at Incheon and began to push...
Pyongyang or bust: DPRK tourism and the pandemic – NKNews Podcast Ep. 196
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea was the first country to stop all international travel following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Jan. 2020, and it may well be the last to reo...
Telling North Korean resettlers’ stories with fashion – NKNews Podcast Ep. 195
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some 33,000 North Korean defectors have entered South Korea since 1998, but many report that they encounter discrimination in the South due to their b...
How Trump brought Korea to the brink of nuclear war – NKNews Podcast Ep. 194
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some observers have argued that North Korea followed a familiar pattern of raising tensions for the purpose of extracting concessions during the 2017 ...
Front row at the Korean War armistice talks – NKNews Podcast Ep. 193
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For this special National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day episode, Korean War veteran Richard Underwood joins the podcast to talk about experiences ...
Working with the disabled in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 192
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Humanitarian professional and author Carla Vitantonio joins the NK News podcast this week to discuss her four years in North Korea working with and ...
An interview with Stephen Biegun – NKNews Podcast Ep. 191
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In an exclusive interview with NK News, former top U.S. envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun provides his first-hand account of U.S. negotiations with ...
Laughing along with North Korean comedy films – NKNews Podcast Ep. 190
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Immanuel Kim joins the NK News podcast this week to talk about women and sexuality in DPRK literature, his translation of a popular North Korean n...
When Trump visited the DMZ – NKNews Podcast Ep. 189
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s podcast, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Morrow talks about his unique stories and experiences during his time as commander of the United Nat...
Crazy price fluctuations in Pyongyang – NKNews Podcast Ep. 188
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this roundtable podcast episode, the NK News team discusses the ever-changing and wild price fluctuations seen in North Korea in the last few weeks...
Documenting human rights abuses in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 187
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joining us on the podcast this week is Dr. Sandra Fahy to talk about her two books on North Korea — Marching through Suffering (2015) and Dying for ...
Teaching entrepreneurship in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 186
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode, Ian Bennett joins the podcast to discuss the work of Choson Exchange. As program director, he runs entrepreneurship workshop...
Two years in Pyongyang – NKNews Podcast Ep. 185
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lindsey Miller (@LindseyMiller87) lived in Pyongyang from 2017 to 2019, during some of the most turbulent times on the Korean Peninsula in recent memo...
What happened at the Moon-Biden summit – NKNews Podcast Ep. 184
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this special post-summit roundtable podcast, the NK News team deep dive into the most recent ROK-US summit and the leaders’ joint statement. They...
How the hardliners prevailed in North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 183
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Germany's long-time ambassador to North Korea, Thomas Schäfer, joins the NK News podcast to discuss diplomatic life in North Korea, politics in Pyong...
H. R. McMaster on North Korea and denuclearization – NKNews Podcast Ep. 182
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster joins the NK News podcast to discuss why past efforts to denu...
Biden’s North Korea policy review and what it means – NKNews Podcast Ep. 181
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this exclusive roundtable podcast, the NK News team discusses the Biden administration's North Korea policy review, the latest from Pyongyang's sta...
The US, sanctions and North Korean denuclearization – NKNews Podcast Ep. 180
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's podcast episode, Anthony Ruggiero — a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former North Korea expert advi...