Stay ConnectedThe NK News Podcast is a weekly program covering all things North Korea: Discussion on the latest news, extended interviews with leading specialists, and insight from our own staff. We welcome both generalist and specialist audiences interested in knowing more about the Korean Peninsula.
The full podcast is available to NK News subscribers.
Sign up today at NK News
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 parade to mark Armed Forces Day. NK News Junior Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the event and ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol’s announcement of the establishment of the new Strategic Command (STRATCOM) to oversee military responses to North Korean nuclear threats. He also talks about a defector’s attempt to drive a stolen bus across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) last week, allegedly seeking to return home after struggling to live in the South for a decade. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
Youngah Lee of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) joins the podcast to discuss the progressive civil society group’s advocacy for inter-Korean peace and restarting dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang. The activist explains why she believes establishing a “peace regime” on the peninsula is the first step toward reunification and why the return of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul is fundamental to this goal. She also shares the PSPD’s stance on why the presence of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula may be hindering inter-Korean relations and the signing of a peace treaty. Youngah Lee is the manager at the Center for Peace and Disarmament and the Center for International Solidarity at the South Korean civil society group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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 relations with nuclear neighbor North Korea, questioning his predecessors’ reliance on sanctions and endorsing dialogue with Pyongyang. NK News Correspondent Shreyas Reddy joins the podcast to discuss what Tokyo’s new leader could have in store when it comes to his policy on the DPRK, as well as a statement by the North Korean leader’s powerful sister slamming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for calling the DPRK an accomplice to Russia’s invasion. He also talks about a recent warning from a U.S. cybersecurity firm that North Korean IT workers who obtain jobs at foreign companies could one day become a vector for massive cyberattacks. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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, a project under the nonprofit Human Rights Foundation. He talks about how the international community can support the project, the future goals of the program and criticism that the Human Rights Foundation has faced. He also discusses his work as the director of NK Insider, an online news platform that offers unique perspectives on North Korea, primarily from defectors. Seongmin Lee is the director of the Korea Desk at the Human Rights Foundation. Born and raised in North Korea, Lee later came to South Korea, going on to study at Columbia University in New York. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of a new ballistic missile and “highly upgraded” cruise missile last week, releasing images of the launches that appeared aimed at demonstrating that the weapons are combat-ready. NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss how the missiles augment the DPRK’s growing arsenal, as well as South Korea’s warning that it could take “decisive military action” against Pyongyang’s trash balloons and a visit by Vietnamese military officials to the DPRK. He’ll also share his analysis of satellite imagery that shows North Korea appears to have started restoring the runway at a defunct airbase near the border with China, more than three and a half years after turning it into a COVID-19 import disinfection and quarantine center. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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 the podcast to discuss the process for others to make their return and rumors of North Korean diplomats being allowed to rotate into Western countries. He also talks about North Korea’s evolving relationship with Russia and what the future of their ties looks like, how to encourage Pyongyang to engage more with the outside world as well as the now-dissolved U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions against the DPRK. John Everard was formerly the U.K.'s ambassador to Belarus, Uruguay, and to North Korea from 2006 to 2008, following which he served on the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea. He was previously on the podcast on episode 107. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a uranium enrichment facility to inspect advanced centrifuges, according to state media last week, providing a rare look inside its nuclear program. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the message Pyongyang sought to send by confirming the existence of a second enrichment facility, and whether Kim’s visit was related to the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S She also talks about more trash balloons from the DPRK, the return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, an upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly meeting and NK Pro analysis that shows Kim Jong Un observed training on infiltrating a South Korean missile command. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
A recent undergraduate research project used satellite imagery to analyze the number of cars on the streets of North Korea’s second-biggest city, and uncovered some surprising results. Historian David Fields joins the podcast to discuss what the data reveals about infrastructure upgrades and vehicle use in the DPRK, as well as to discuss his book on Syngman Rhee and what he learned from reading decades of the first South Korean president’s diaries. David Fields is the associate director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fields earned his PhD in history at the same University, specializing in U.S.-Korean relations. He is the author of “Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea,” and the editor of “The Diary of Syngman Rhee” and “Divided America, Divided Korea: The U.S. and Korea During and After the Trump Years.” About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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, modern surface and underwater vessels” as he pushes to revitalize the country’s navy. NK News Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer joins the podcast to discuss Kim’s weekend activities, as well as South Korea’s new defense minister and North Korea’s barrage of trash balloon launches in recent days. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
Cooperation between North Korea and Russia across various sectors has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with major implications for the Korean Peninsula and beyond. This week, scholar Bo Ram Kwon joins the podcast to talk about how Moscow’s war in Ukraine has shifted the security dynamics for South Korea, particularly strategic planning with the U.S. She also discusses the possibility that the DPRK could coordinate with China in the event of a Taiwan contingency, as well as how the international community can effectively respond to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations. Dr. Bo Ram Kwon is a research fellow in the Center for Security and Strategy at Korea’s Global Strategy Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Her research expertise includes U.S. security and defense strategy, the U.S.-ROK alliance, the nexus between U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics and economic sanctions. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
