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The NK News Podcast wants to hear from you! Fill out the listener survey at the following link for a chance to win a free 12-month subscription to NK News: CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY U.S.-North Korea relations have been stuck in place for the last two years, as other geopolitical developments seem to dominate Washington’s attention. But North Korea has not stood still — pushing its weapons programs and tensions to new heights. What is the view from the White House, and will the Biden administration refocus on the Koreas now that the midterms are over? Several members of the NK News team recently spent a week in Washington and New York City meeting with government officials, think tank analysts and other North Korea watchers, and they join the podcast to discuss what they learned about the lack of urgency on North Korea, whether the U.S. will ever accept the DPRK as a nuclear state, Seoul’s “escalatory” rhetoric and more. This podcast features NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl), Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko). About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
The number of North Korea books to choose from gets bigger every year, and it can be challenging to figure out where best to start. That’s where David Tizzard comes in. The Seoul-based university lecturer has reviewed several books for NK News and joins the podcast to share his favorites from the past year — as well as the ones to avoid. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
Throughout this year, North Korea has repeatedly framed its weapons tests as simple reactions to U.S.-ROK efforts to restart military exercises and boost deterrence. It claims its long-range missile launches, sortie flybys, artillery drills and other military activities are necessary defensive moves against U.S. “hostile policy.” But Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia, says the primary driver of North Korean missile testing is actually technical — not the action or inaction of Washington or Seoul. He joins the NK News Podcast to discuss a range of issues on the peninsula and in the region, including why this historic year of missile tests isn’t a game changer, how AUKUS is oriented around DPRK threats and whether Australia is the best place to wait out nuclear war. Gordon Flake is the founding CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. He is also governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, co-chair of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and was previously director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America, amid other affiliations. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
In 2019, the activist Adrian Hong led a daring raid on North Korea’s Embassy in Madrid, stealing hard drives and documents and apparently assaulting embassy staff. Initial news reports suggested that Free Joseon, Hong’s human rights activist group that advocates for overthrowing the Kim regime in Pyongyang, was behind the raid. But it soon became clear that it was far more complex than a simple smash-and-grab, possibly even involving the CIA and a fake kidnapping attempt. In his new book, “The Rebel and the Kingdom,” Bradley Hope attempts to unpack the events of that February day by focusing on the ringleader himself. And he joins the NK News podcast this week to discuss his findings — from Hong’s upbringing and background in DPRK human rights to how he put together Free Joseon and the continuing fallout from the Madrid raid. Hope also touches on the plight of Christopher Ahn, the daring escape of Kim Jong Un’s nephew from Macau and more. Bradley Hope is an award-winning author based in London. He is the New York Times bestselling co-author of “Billion Dollar Whale” (2018) and “Blood and Oil” (2020). About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
Tension remained elevated on the peninsula in November as North Korea continued an array of weapons tests, including its first successful launch of its largest nuclear-capable missile and dozens of other ballistic and artillery tests. But another development arguably garnered more attention than even the massive Hwasong-17: North Korean state media revealed Kim Jong Un’s daughter for the first time in its coverage of the intercontinental ballistic missile launch. The unnamed girl appears to be around 10 years old and may be the same one NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman said he met when he visited Pyongyang in 2013. This week, the NK News team explores the litany of theories about why she appeared now and whether she is the new heir to the North Korean throne. They also discuss the arrests of multiple Moon Jae-in government officials over the 2020 death of an ROK civil servant in DPRK waters, U.S. strategic assets on the peninsula, a BTS member serving at the inter-Korean border and how risks rise the longer tensions remain high. This week’s episode features Analyst James Fretwell (@JamesFretwe11), Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer) and Editorial Intern Yeji Chung (@chung_yeji). About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
The U.S. and North Korea seem incapable of moving past the status quo, with neither side willing to concede to the other’s demands of either complete denuclearization, complete sanctions relief, or some combination of the two. The two countries haven’t spoken in years and appear no closer to a breakthrough despite several summits and other engagements from 2018 to 2019. To Simone Chun, a researcher in Northeast Asian political affairs, the U.S. is largely to blame for this stalemate and has perpetuated a hostile policy toward Pyongyang since before the Korean War and ever since. She joins the NK News Podcast to discuss why the Trump-Kim summits did not lead to lasting change, the legacies of U.S. imperialism on the peninsula, the momentum of the military-industrial complex, the cause-and-reaction cycle of U.S.-ROK “war games” and North Korean missile tests, why the shared culture, history and bonds the two Koreas have are the best hope for peace in the future, and more. Dr. Simone Chun (@SimoneChun) has over 30 years of teaching and research experience in U.S. foreign policy. She has served in various academic and research roles at Suffolk University, Northeastern University and Harvard. Her other affiliations include the Korea Peace Network, CodePink, the Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea and the Korea Policy Institute. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
For nearly 70 years, a delicate ceasefire has prevailed between the two Koreas through cycle after cycle of tensions. But the Korean War Armistice Agreement was never meant to last so long, nor did its architects envision it would ever be so widely applicable across the land, air and sea domains. John Burzynski spent 20 years as an international relations advisor at U.N. Command (UNC), which oversees the armistice, and this week, he joins the NK News podcast for a deep dive into the agreement. Burzynski explains what the U.S., China and North Korea believed the armistice would and wouldn’t do when they signed it in July 1953, how the UNC has adapted to the evolving security situation since then, why the armistice has so little to say about the maritime border, why Pyongyang cannot unilaterally decide that the armistice no longer applies and more. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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 Korea’s launch of a surface-to-air missile into waters south of the inter-Korean maritime border this month marked a major escalation in its recent missile testing campaign, inviting a tit-for-tat response from South Korea. The incident also raised a number of questions about the countries’ sea boundaries, from how far they extend into the ocean and when they were agreed upon to possible points of conflict. Dr. Yoon In-joo has spent much of her career considering inter-Korean relations on the high seas. This week, she joins the NK News Podcast to discuss the Northern Limit Line, the inter-Korean agreements that govern the Korean Peninsula, what international law has to say about divided Korean waters and everything from crab fishing to land reclamation. Yoon is a research fellow at the Korea Maritime Institute in Busan, where she leads various research projects on North Korea-related topics. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) 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.
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