All Episodes
North Korea News Podcast by NK News — 318 episodes
North Korea’s attack drill, Wonsan Kalma slowdown and Google’s blurry maps
Russia bridge opens, Songdowon sanctions and North Korea’s forgotten UK insurer
Sun Kim on documenting North Korean women, matchmaking and marriage
Trump’s outreach, Seoul’s dilemma and lessons from decades inside the DPRK
Trump courts Kim again, US-ROK drills shrink and a more confident North Korea
Rudiger Frank on North Korea’s hidden middle class: North Korea Unpacked
North Korea’s World Cup miracle and the town that kept the memory alive
North Korea’s closer ties with China, Russia — and what Washington can do
North Korea’s new destroyers, China border trade and Seoul’s coexistence dilemma
Ambassador recall, remote work scams and the lives of North Korea’s elites
Brian Davis on how the US military collects intel: North Korea Unpacked
Yoon’s prison sentence, Xi’s North Korea visit and shifting peninsula dynamics
A modular missile system, warship testing and signs Xi will visit North Korea
North Korean club soccer team wins AFC title during rare trip to the South
Andrei Lankov on DPRK’s new doctrine – North Korea Unpacked with Jacco Zwetsloot
Parades, panaceas and a sunken ship: North Korea-Russia cooperation grows
Borders, nukes and welfare: Inside North Korea’s purported constitution
Eunhee Park: Surviving North Korea and reclaiming identity in the South
Sayaka Chatani: How pro-North Korea communities took root in Japan
Cathy Kang: Rethinking Korean unification from a global perspective
Jonathan Cheng: The Christian roots of North Korea’s personality cult
Ankit Panda: How North Korea could take its military modernization to space
Pit Heltmann: Diplomacy in North Korea before the world shut down
Peter Ward: Inside North Korea’s expanding crackdown on ‘unsocialist’ behavior
A canceled Pyongyang marathon, a renamed community and a harsh reality in China
Ankit Panda: North Korea’s deterrence calculus after US strikes on Iran
Roundtable: What we learned from North Korea’s Ninth Party Congress
Kim Jong Un’s reelection, Kim Yo Jong’s promotion and changes at the top
Martyn Williams: How digital tech strengthens North Korean state control
Alec Zebrick: What 2025 taught us about North Korea’s crypto strategy
Epstein files, North Korean POWs and the looming Party Congress
Lee Sang-sin: Why most South Koreans no longer see unification as necessary
More Party Congress preparations, and Iran’s new envoy in North Korea
Roland de Courson: Photographing the demilitarized zone’s unseen stories
North Korea’s parade and Party Congress prep, plus personnel purges
Ria Roy: The importance of subtle language differences between North and South
North Korea’s youth outreach, Party Congress signals and prison demolition
What’s next for North Korea-Venezuela ties after Maduro’s capture
North Korea’s drone allegations, Seoul’s denial and the Lee-Xi summit in China
Seeing the future: What to expect from North Korea in the new year
What Kim Jong Un sees in the US capture of Nicolás Maduro
Yong Ja Hong: How sports and athletics play into North Korean statecraft
New Year’s in North Korea and a ‘nuclear’ submarine on Christmas Day
Year-end special: A look back at the most compelling North Korea stories of 2025
UN condemns North Korean abuses, POWs in the DPRK and inter-Korean tourism
Gabe Segoine: How ‘surfing diplomacy’ made waves in North Korea
A North Korean’s murder in St. Petersburg, and a homecoming for DPRK troops
Jane Hardy: An Australian diplomat’s lessons from 30 years with North Korea
Death of Russian ambassador to DPRK, forgotten detainees and Halifax Forum
Joëlle Hivonnet: How the North Korean threat came knocking on the EU’s door
DMZ construction, plans to flood the border and North Korea’s air force showcase
Lonnie Edge: How North Korea fosters legitimacy during times of crisis
Seoul floats scaling back US-ROK drills, and proposes talks with North Korea
Elizabeth Campbell: Behind the scenes of North Korea’s Hollywood dreams
Russian firms in Pyongyang, North Koreans in Kursk and a prize for Kim Jong Un
How Seoul and Kyiv can join forces to counter North Korea-Russia military ties
Death of a North Korean official, and the mystery around Pyongyang Papers
Maarten Jongsma: Growing potatoes, and partnerships, in North Korea
How North Korea impacted the APEC summit from afar
Bong Seung Shin: How a South Korean journalist reported from inside the North
US-North Korea summit prospects, a new envoy in Seoul and Kim’s cemetery visit
Remco Breuker: How North Korea built illicit networks that outlasted sanctions
A North Korean soldier’s defection, and a possible Trump-Kim meeting
The forgotten postal link between North and South Korea
Unpacking North Korea’s military parade, from foreign guests to new weapons
Chandana Seshadri: How North Korean IT workers exploit remote hiring systems
North Korea’s latest weapons expo, naval ambitions and Pyongyang hospital opens
James Heenan: Inside the UN’s new human rights report on North Korea
Lee Jae-myung’s ‘E.N.D.’ game, two states debate and North Korea-China talks
Vipin Narang: Why Seoul doesn’t need its own nukes to counter North Korea
Loyalty relays for Kim Jong Un, and North Korea’s terms for talks with the US
Stephen Mercado: How Japan crafted secret weapons to counter North Korea
Blaming Russia for North Korean deaths, 100 days of Lee Jae-myung and drills
Mark Sauter: What to make of the reported US Navy SEAL mission into North Korea
North Korea’s engine test, Kim Jong Un’s Beijing diplomacy and trade fair plans
The optics of Kim Jong Un’s appearance at China’s military parade
Go Myong-hyun: US-ROK talks and North Korea’s diplomatic theater in Beijing
Joseph Torigian: How Xi Jinping’s father rebuilt China-North Korea ties
The first Lee-Trump summit, and North Korea’s commemoration of war dead
Tycho van der Hoog: North Korea’s forgotten allies in Africa
An ex-North Korean soldier’s bid for repatriation, and controversial remittances
Kornel Chang: How Korea’s liberation led to division into North and South
A North Korean defection, postponed US-ROK drills and dismantling loudspeakers
Maeng Hyo-shim: A North Korean family’s escape against all odds
Russia-DPRK bridge update, trilateral boat tours and Moscow-Pyongyang flights
How South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung could revive US-North Korea talks
Kim Yo Jong spurns Seoul’s overtures, and US targets North Korean laptop farms
How North Korea’s Kim rulers manage elites to guarantee regime survival
North Korean ChatGPT, renaming the unification ministry and Seoul’s main enemy
How Russian tiger hunters got roped into a plot to kill the North Korean leader
Lavrov sails on Kim Jong Un’s yacht, military parade prep and wastewater rumors
Shinyoung Kwon: Authoritarian roots of North Korea’s neighborhood associations
Additional North Korean troop deployment, Kim mourns in public and beachgoers
Mitsuhiro Mimura: The secret to North Korea’s economic resilience
North Korea’s mega resort opens, testimony of executions and taekwondo rivalry
Matchmaking across borders: Documenting North Koreans relationships in the South
Seoul’s new unification minister, DPRK rocket launches and border drills
Dong Jin Kim: What North Korea can learn from Ireland’s peace process
Lessons for North Korea from Israeli strikes on Iran, and loudspeakers go silent
Balazs Szalontai: North Korea’s calculated diplomacy in the Middle East
Kim Jong Un’s hospital visit, damaged warship’s voyage and DPRK election report
Moon Chung-in: Why the window to rebuilding inter-Korean relations is closed
North Korea’s warship troubles, Shangri-La and Lee Jae-myung on cusp of victory
Should Seoul formally abandon the goal of reunification with North Korea?
What South Korea’s presidential candidates are saying about North Korea
Joel Wit: An inside look at US-North Korea nuclear diplomacy
North Korea’s army training ‘revolution,’ military drills and Ukraine-DPRK trade
How North Korean literature celebrates the ‘hidden heroes’ of everyday life
Putin meets North Korean commanders, and Kim Jong Un’s Victory Day speech
Bart van Genugten: How Western tourists put North Koreans’ lives at risk
North Korea test missiles from new warship, and ROK presidential race heats up
Eleonor Fernandez: What accountability looks like for North Korean abuses
North Korea confirms Russia troop deployment, and the DPRK’s new warship
Bruce Bennett: Why the US needs a new strategy to deter North Korean nuclear use
North Korea’s new skyscraper street, rejecting drone claims and defector numbers
Cathi Choi: How inter-Korean conflict harms women’s rights
The Pyongyang marathon’s new name, and the death of a North Korean commando
Fyodor Tertitskiy: Researching the life of ‘accidental tyrant’ Kim Il Sung
Return of the Pyongyang marathon and North Korea’s military drills targeting ROK
How Yoon’s ouster will impact the future of inter-Korean relations
Dae-hyeon Park: Empowering North Korean defectors by bridging information gap
North Korea-Russia bridge and Seoul’s call for military readiness against DPRK
The view of North Korea from Trump’s Washington
Shoigu meets Kim Jong Un, North Korean missile defenses and DPRK guns in Kursk
The existential crisis facing the North Korean human rights movement
How North Korean troops will factor into Ukraine-Russia peace talks
Joh Kyeongil: What it means to be a progressive North Korean defector
How South Korea’s political crisis impacts North Korea policy
More North Korean missiles, US-ROK drills and a nuke submarine inspection
Georgy Toloraya: Why the North Korea-Russia relationship is built to last
North Korea threatens US, a cruise missile test and Yoon’s final defense
Jeongmin Kim: The importance of Track 2 diplomacy on North Korea
North Korea improves a copycat US drone, and the DPRK’s evolving role in Ukraine
Rowan Beard and Greg Vaczi: The return of Western tourism to North Korea
Kim’s redevelopment plans, Trump’s fund freeze and tour companies in North Korea
Thomas Stock: North Korea’s call for peace as a means of propaganda
Opposition leader on DPRK, Russian envoy’s interview and US-Japan nuclear pledge
Dan Gudgeon: How South Korea’s language on North Korea shapes peace narrative
North Korea’s criticism of Trump official and key DPRK officers killed in Kursk
Kap Seol: How North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has exacerbated proxy war
North Korea’s sea-to-surface missile launch and ROK spy agency allegations
Lyle Goldstein: Why Trump needs to engage North Korea to lower tensions
Kim Jong Un’s message to troops, Yoon’s arrest and Kim Yo Jong’s statement
Predicting 2025: What’s in store for North Korea in the year to come
North Korean soldiers’ testimony from Ukraine and Kim Jong Un’s development push
Andrei Lankov: Why North Korean troops won’t make a difference in Ukraine war
North Korea’s upgraded hypersonic missile, and the year-end party plenum
Jingwu Fang: How a ‘third’ Korea formed on the North Korea-China border
The status of North Korea’s foreign community, five years after pandemic began
Year-end special: A look back at the most compelling North Korea stories of 2024
North Korean troops’ fake IDs, and what’s left of the DPRK Embassy in Damascus
Hanna Song: How to ensure North Korean voices are not forgotten
North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk, martial law fallout and Russian trains
Kathi Zellweger: The life of a humanitarian worker in North Korea
Martial law revelations, commander-in-chief confusion and North Korea’s response
Examining the fallout from Yoon Suk-yeol’s shocking declaration of martial law
Balloon ban, border fencing and broadcasting television into North Korea
Urs Gerber: Why inter-Korean relations are back to square one
North Korea blasts US support for Ukraine, and Russia sends new air defenses
Sean King: Why Trump’s reelection could see Kim Jong Un visit the White House
How North Korean troops in Russia have changed peninsula dynamics
Minjung Kim: The Ten Principles that govern the lives of North Koreans
Fake news about North Korean troops, and a Russian attack on ROK websites
What Donald Trump’s return means for North Korea and Kim Jong Un
North Korea’s new missile, fighting in Kursk and the end of the Juche calendar
Bruce Klingner: What a second Trump presidency would mean for the peninsula
North Korean soldiers in Kursk, ROK retaliation and propaganda leaflets in Seoul
Roman Husarski: How North Koreans practice religion in the atheistic state
Examining evidence of North Korean troop deployments to the war in Ukraine
Frank Aum: Why North Korea’s claims should be taken at face value
Breaking down North Korea’s claims about alleged South Korean drone incursion
Jihyun Park: A woman’s journey from North Korea to British politics
Seoul’s ‘monster missile’ and a defector’s attempt to return to North Korea
Youngah Lee: Why a ‘peace regime’ must come before unification with North Korea
Japan’s new leader, Kim Yo Jong slams Zelensky and advisory on DPRK IT workers
Seongmin Lee: How USB flash drives can empower North Koreans
New North Korean missile, Vietnamese visitors and more trash balloons
John Everard: Deciphering rumors about return of more diplomats to North Korea
North Korea’s secret uranium enrichment site, a Swedish return and more
David Fields: What road traffic reveals about North Korea’s economy
North Korea’s new naval base, Seoul’s pro-nuke defense chief and trash balloons
Bo Ram Kwon: How cooperation with Russia has emboldened North Korea
North Korea’s foundation day, top diplomat at UN and return of foreign teachers
Decker Eveleth: Scrutinizing North Korea’s nuclear missiles from the sky
North Korea’s new suicide drones, and Russian students in Pyongyang
Marcel Dirsus: What makes North Korea’s dictatorship unique from others
Yoon’s new vision for unification with North Korea and US-ROK summer drills
Rob York: How the Global South views North Korean human rights
North Korea expert arrested for spying, and overachieving DPRK Olympians
Donald Kirk: How Seoul secretly paid for a summit with North Korea
North Korean missiles to border, catastrophic floods and arms factory expansion
Ed Pulford: Discovering the city where North Korea, China and Russia collide
North Korea’s Olympic hopes, a $10M FBI bounty and a fond farewell
Roundtable: What to make of North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry’s indictment
ROK turns up loudspeakers, a North Korean diplomat’s testimony and defector art
Kim Jaechun: Why unification is only possible with North Korean people’s support
Kim Yo Jong threats, a North Korean eatery in Mongolia and aid workers return
Park Hyangsu: Why North Korea’s unification rejection shocked Koreans in Japan
Kim Yo Jong slams ROK border drills, Russian kids to visit North Korea
John Linton: Why Korean reunification could happen tomorrow
North Korea’s plenum, new Kim Jong Un pins and rumors of DPRK troops in Ukraine
Eric Foley: Why it’s better to launch balloons into North Korea under the radar
More North Korean balloons and border incursions after Kim-Putin summit
NK News Team: Deciphering North Korea’s new treaty with Russia
Putin’s looming visit to North Korea, inter-Korean border tensions and more
Daniel Pinkston: How North Korea uses technology to control its citizens
ROK restarts propaganda loudspeakers, and North Korean construction inside DMZ
Peter Moody: North Korean pop propaganda, girl groups and lyric revisionism
North Korean trash balloons, Kim Yo Jong snark and Seoul’s loudspeaker threats
Why the US seeks dialogue with North Korea on human rights – Ep. 344
The surprising similarities between North Korea and Taiwan – Ep. 343
How North Korea uses feature films as a social weapon – Ep. 342
What Russia has to gain by killing the UN panel on North Korea – Ep. 341
Why North Korea has embraced sustainable development – Ep. 340
One man’s mission to map all of North Korea – Ep. 339
The ups and downs of negotiating with North Koreans – Ep. 338
North Korea’s impact on the South Korean general election – Ep. 337
The challenges of archiving North Korea’s volatile media – Ep. 336
How North Korea rinses the dirty proceeds of its cyber heists – Ep. 335
How dictatorship shapes the politics of the North Korean diaspora – Ep. 334
North Korea’s unexpected response to US-ROK military exercises – Ep. 333
What the UN’s role in North Korea will look like going forward – Ep. 332
How a ‘new Cold War’ is making North Korea more risk-averse – Ep. 331
What Kim Jong Un’s appearances can tell us about the DPRK regime – Ep. 330
Analyzing the US-ROK alliance’s impact on North Korea’s policies – Ep. 329
How North Korea started spat between Moscow and Seoul – Ep. 328
Has Kim Jong Un really made a strategic decision to go to war? – Ep. 327
Covering North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s elite female entourage – Ep. 326
Collecting evidence of North Korea’s human rights violations – Ep. 325
The role of translation in shedding light on North Korea – Ep. 324
Dissecting Kim Jong Un’s plenum speech on North Korea’s 2024 plans – Ep. 323
What over 100 experts think about North Korea’s next steps – Ep. 322
Communicating with North Korea through faxes and phone calls – Ep. 321
What we know about Kim Jong Un’s daughter, one year after her reveal – Ep. 320
Behind the scenes of the US approach to North Korea – Ep. 319
The role of the UN Command in keeping peace with North Korea – Ep. 318
North Korea’s successful satellite launch and what it means – Ep. 317
Filming treacherous defections from North Korea – Ep. 316
The growing evidence of North Korean weapons trade with Russia – Ep. 315
Divisions over how to tackle North Korean human rights issues – Ep. 314
The intertwined histories of the two Koreas, and what the future holds – Ep. 313
Korean Americans’ messages to long-lost relatives in North Korea – Ep. 312
North Korea’s rapidly changing media landscape – Ep. 311
How North Korea is weighing in on Hamas attacks on Israel – Ep. 310
How outside information spreads in North Korea – Ep. 309
Driving change in North Korea through people, not the regime – Ep. 308
What to make of Kim Jong Un’s second summit with Vladimir Putin – Ep. 307
Lessons from four decades shaping US policy on North Korea – Ep. 306
Why Kim Jong Un might want to discuss weapons sales with Putin – Ep. 305
Inside the UN Panel of Experts overseeing North Korea sanctions – Ep. 304
How one activist helps North Koreans grow their own food – Ep. 303
North Korea’s imitation of foreign brands, from Choco Pie to Dior – Ep. 302
The FBI investigation into Virgil Griffith, crypto guru to North Korea – Ep. 301
North Korea welcomes special guests for a ‘Victory Day’ parade – Ep. 300
The American prisoners of war left behind in North Korea – Ep. 299
What’s next for the American soldier who crossed into North Korea – Ep. 298
North Korean threats over US planes, DPRK internet access and more – Ep. 297
An interview with John Bolton, hardliner on North Korea – Ep. 296
The Wagner Group and North Korea, Seoul under DPRK rule and more – Ep. 295
Seoul sues North Korea, inter-Korean naval tensions and more – Ep. 294
Why North Korea barely moves the needle for South Korean voters – Ep. 293
What went wrong with North Korea’s spy satellite launch – Ep. 292
Evacuation warnings in Seoul, North Korean children’s books and more – Ep. 291
How a US ambassador navigated North Korean tumult – Ep. 290
Helping North Koreans by promoting reform from within – Ep. 289
The bumpy road ahead for inter-Korean relations – Ep. 288
North Korea’s strategy for coping with the consequences of nukes – Ep. 287
What the US-ROK summit means for North Korea – Ep. 286
The ‘nuclear warrior’ making the case for ending the Korean War – Ep. 285
How learning English empowers North Korean refugees – Ep. 284
Will North Korean missiles rain down on the Day of the Sun? – Ep. 283
Mount Paektu: North Korea’s sacred mountain and active volcano – Ep. 282
The limits to what UN aid agencies can do to help North Korea – Ep. 281
The North Korean victims of US atomic bombings on Japan – Ep. 280
An inside look at the Joint Security Area, ‘freedom’s frontier’ – Ep. 279
Why North Korea’s state ideology appeals to some in Africa – Ep. 278
Promoting creative engagement with North Korea – Ep. 277
An unprecedented look inside North Korea’s nuclear facilities – Ep. 276
Why the Korean War was actually two separate conflicts – Ep. 275
New missile and Kim Jong Un’s daughter steal show at military parade – Ep. 274
Imagining worst case scenarios on the Korean Peninsula – Ep. 273
Distinguishing between North Korea humanitarianism and human rights – Ep. 272
The defector who snuck into North Korea to save his mother – Ep. 271
How North Korea’s drones increase risk of inter-Korean conflict – Ep. 270
What the blob really thinks about North Korea in 2023 – Ep. 269
The best and worst books on North Korea in 2022 — Ep. 268
What drives North Korean missile testing — Ep. 267
One man’s project to overthrow the Kim regime — Ep. 266
Kim Jong Un’s daughter steals spotlight from DPRK’s biggest missile – Ep. 265
Deconstructing the US’ ‘hostile policy’ toward North Korea – Ep. 264
A deep dive into the delicate ceasefire agreement with North Korea – Ep. 263
The fuzzy, contentious division of the Koreas at sea — Ep. 262
What to make of North Korea’s historic week of missile tests – Ep. 261
What North Korea can learn from Southeast Asia – Ep. 260
Africa to North Korea: Growing up under Kim Il Sung’s fatherly care – Ep. 259
Rollerblading through Kim Il Sung Square – Ep. 258
Are North Korea’s missile tests building up to something big? – Ep. 257
A peace-first, pro-diplomacy approach to North Korea – Ep. 256
What the CIA knows (and doesn’t know) about North Korea – Ep. 255
Unplugging from the North Korean matrix – Ep. 254
How nuclear weapons help North Korea punch above its weight – Ep. 253
North Korea declares COVID victory and lashes out at US-ROK drills – Ep. 252
Why it’s in America’s interest to withdraw troops from Korea – Ep. 251
Why North Korean comic books don’t have superheroes – Ep. 250
When North Korea invited East German secret police to Pyongyang – Ep. 249
North Korea threatens death penalty for illegal drug sales – Ep. 248
Up close and personal at the Demilitarized Zone – Ep. 247
Emerging North Korean threats in cyber and outer space – Ep. 246
How Sweden created a safe space for North Korea talks – NKNews Podcast Ep. 245
North Korea blames ‘alien things’ for COVID-19 outbreak – NKNews Podcast Ep. 244
Life inside the pro-North Korea enclave in Japan – NKNews Podcast Ep. 243
North Korea’s invented histories – NKNews Podcast Ep. 242
The untold story of Kim Jong Un’s older brother – NKNews Podcast Ep. 241
Lured to North Korea on false promises – NKNews Podcast Ep. 240
Debating nukes a stone’s throw from North Korea – NKNews Podcast Ep. 239
Inside North Korea’s Lazarus heist hack — NKNews Podcast Ep. 238
Exploring North Korea from south of the DMZ – NKNews Podcast Ep. 237
North Korea reports first-ever COVID-19 outbreak – NKNews Podcast Ep. 236