How dictatorship shapes the politics of the North Korean diaspora – Ep. 334

The U.S. and South Korea wrapped up large-scale springtime military drills last week, but not without a response from the DPRK. NK News Managing Editor Bryan Betts (@BryanBetts21) sits down to discuss North Korea’s recent rocket salvo, as well as why state propaganda is keen to show leader Kim Jong Un is not just focused on the military. Then, scholar Sheena Chestnut Greitens joins the podcast to talk about the politics of the North Korean diaspora and defectors’ outsized influence on international policy toward the DPRK. Chestnut Greitens discusses her research on North Korean communities in not only South Korea but also countries like the U.S. and the U.K., and how defectors who grew up in one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian dictatorships navigate the rights of citizenship in democratic states. She also explores how the North Korean state attempts to control the diaspora by preventing people from leaving and dissuading those who have from engaging in political activities. Sheena Chestnut Greitens (@SheenaGreitens) is director of the Asia Policy Program at the University of Texas-Austin, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment and a visiting professor at the U.S. Army War College. Her latest book is “Politics of the North Korean Diaspora.” 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.