Former Australian diplomat Jane Hardy joins this episode to discuss how Australia has engaged with North Korea over the past few decades, and what that experience reveals about diplomacy, deterrence and nuclear risk today. Hardy, who spent over 30 years in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, shares insights from her work on […]…

This week, NK News correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to recap a week’s worth of news from Seoul and Pyongyang, starting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s comments about potentially scaling back joint military exercises with the U.S. to support diplomacy with North Korea. He talks about how previous progressive governments, such…

This week’s episode opens with the news of the sudden death of Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, who died at 70 on Saturday following decades of diplomatic service on the Korean Peninsula.NK News founder Chad O’Carroll then discusses his recent appearance at a high-profile press conference with South Korean President Lee Jae-…

This week, Dr. Joëlle Hivonnet joins the podcast to discuss her four-year tenure as the EU’s deputy head in Seoul from 2016, a tumultuous era in inter-Korean relations defined by both tensions and diplomacy. Hivonnet talks about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against North Korea transformed into summit talks between leader Kim Jong Un, […

This week, NK News senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss recent developments along the inter-Korean border, as well North Korea’s latest event showcasing new air force weaponry. He begins by sharing what satellite imagery shows about the DPRK’s construction projects within the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, …

This week, Lonnie Edge of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies joins the podcast to discuss North Korea’s strategies for portraying itself as a legitimate government both inside and outside its borders. According to Edge, the Kim regime has become adept at changing its narrative or policies to address crises or changes in circumstances, such as […]…

Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, a visiting scholar at Korea University’s Research Institute of Korean Studies, joins the podcast to discuss all things North Korean film — from former leader Kim Jong Il’s love of foreign cinema to what is arguably the country’s most famous movie, “The Flower Girl.” She sheds light on the second Kim leader’s […]…

This week, NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss Russian participation in North Korea’s fall trade fair and the latest in the two sides’ military cooperation over the war in Ukraine.He talks about how over a dozen Russian commercial firms hawked their electronics and foods in Pyongyang last month, as well as about Mo…

This week, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and a Ukrainian military official join the podcast to discuss North Korea’s support of Russian forces, and why this poses a threat to South Korea’s security.Dr. Hanna Hopko, co-founder of the International Center of Ukrainian Victory, and Ukrainian National Guard Lt. Volodymyr Vernygora examine the evolving DP…

This week, NK News founder Chad O’Carroll joins the podcast to discuss the life of Kim Yong Nam, the longtime No. 2 in North Korea’s leadership who died this month at 97. He also unravels the mystery behind Pyongyang Papers, the website that anonymously published information on North Korea’s sanctions-evading network before disappearing without war…

Maarten Jongsma, a senior researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, joins the podcast to discuss his years of collaboration with North Korean agricultural scientists and efforts to help improve potato cultivation in the DPRK. He shares his recollections from his multiple visits to North Korea between 2004 and 2012, describing the coun…

Maarten Jongsma, a senior researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, joins the podcast to discuss his years of collaboration with North Korean agricultural scientists and efforts to help improve potato cultivation in the DPRK.He shares his recollections from his multiple visits to North Korea between 2004 and 2012, describing the count…

This week, three members of the NK News team unpack their time at the APEC summit in Gyeongju and discuss how North Korea featured in the week’s diplomatic drama. Despite high expectations, U.S. President Donald Trump did not meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip to Korea, though Pyongyang still loomed large […]…

In this episode, veteran KBS journalist Bong Seung Shin shares his experience reporting from North Korea and communicating with journalists on the ground in the country. Shin first traveled to Pyongyang in 2008, crossing the demilitarized zone by air as part of a trip organized by an NGO. He describes the excitement of entering North […]…

In this episode, veteran KBS journalist Bong Seung Shin shares his experience reporting from North Korea and communicating with journalists on the ground in the country.Shin first traveled to Pyongyang in 2008, crossing the demilitarized zone by air as part of a trip organized by an NGO. He describes the excitement of entering North Korea for the f…

NK News founder Chad O’Carroll joins the podcast this week to unpack the busy week ahead on the Korean Peninsula as APEC kicks off and U.S. President Donald Trump heads to South Korea. He discusses the growing speculation over whether Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time in over […]…

This week, historian Remco Breuker explores how Pyongyang has built illicit networks that operate far beyond its borders to oversee labor exports, arrange business deals and traffic arms. He reflects on the collapse of the U.N. Panel of Experts that once tracked sanctions violations, warning that the world has lost a vital mechanism for understandi…

Kim Jong Un’s announcement of a new policy rejecting reunification has sparked considerable debate among North Korea watchers. This week, Kim Jaechun, a professor of international relations at the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University, joins the podcast to talk about a discussion he recently moderated at the unification mini…

The North Korean leader’s sister warned that South Korea will pay “a very high price” after North Korean authorities discovered more ROK-origin leaflets in its territory, according to a statement published by state media over the weekend. NK News CEO Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) joins the podcast to discuss Kim Yo Jong’s threat, as well as his recent …

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