North Korea News Podcast by NK News

Researcher Kap Seol, a frequent contributor to the leftist magazine Jacobin, joins the podcast to discuss his recent article about how the deployment of DPRK troops to fight in Ukraine could lead South Korea to respond by escalating its own involvement. The self-described former socialist also talks about the similarities between Kim Il Sung and […]

North Korea launched multiple sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles on Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the first weapons test since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. presidency. NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the launch, as well as a former ROK spy likening President Yoon Suk-yeol’s alleged order to arrest […]

North Korea-Russia ties have grown by leaps and bounds since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, while its relationship with China appears to have suffered as a result. This week, expert Lyle Goldstein joins the podcast to share insights into Pyongyang’s strategic partnerships with its neighbors and the complex dynamics that shape its nuclear ambitions. […]

In this episode, NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill dives into the latest evidence of North Korea’s military involvement in the war in Ukraine, focusing on recently recovered handwritten notes detailing Kim Jong Un’s message to North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces. She also talks about how Kyiv’s decision to reveal the identities […]

In this special roundtable episode, NK News journalists evaluate the accuracy of their predictions for 2024 and share what they expect from North Korea in the year to come. The team discusses how the DPRK’s relations with South Korea, China and Russia have evolved and allegations that Seoul sought to provoke Pyongyang last year. They […]

Ukraine released the first testimony from North Korean soldiers captured fighting for Russia in the Kursk region on Saturday, providing the latest evidence of the DPRK’s involvement in the war. NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins the podcast to discuss the footage and photos of the two soldiers released by the Ukrainian government […]

In this episode, Andrei Lankov returns to the podcast to discuss key developments in and around North Korea over the last year, including the deployment of DPRK weapons and soldiers to aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also discusses the impact of Pyongyang’s increasing alignment with Moscow, the current state of China-DPRK ties and why […]

North Korea launched into the new year with its first test of a ballistic missile in months, firing an upgraded version of its solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on Monday. NK News Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy joins the podcast to discuss what new about the missile and the timing of the launch. He also reviews […]

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is located in northeast China, just across the border from North Korea, and while few outsiders may know about it, the region is home to a sizable population of ethnic Koreans whose story is wrapped up with the decades-long division of the peninsula. In this episode, Chinese YouTuber Jingwu Fang joins […]

The world has long since moved on from the closures and restrictions of the pandemic, but five years since the first COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the patchy return of diplomatic missions and foreign aid organizations to Pyongyang shows that North Korea is still far from restoring the pre-2020 status quo. This week, NK News founder […]

In this special year-end episode, the NK News podcast revisits the most compelling North Korea stories of the year, as told by the reporters who covered them. NK News journalists discuss everything from the DPRK’s Olympic glory and inter-Korean border construction to South Korea’s late-night martial law, while sharing firsthand experiences reporting their favorite features […]

The Ukrainian military claims it seized fake identification documents of North Korean soldiers killed in action in Kursk, the latest evidence that DPRK troops disguised as Russian soldiers are supporting Moscow’s war effort. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill joins the podcast to discuss the latest news about DPRK troops in the region, as […]

This week, Hanna Song of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) returns to the podcast to discuss the NGO’s latest white paper documenting a huge surge in regime crackdowns on outside information, as well as how NKDB’s researchers gather credible data. She shares her perspective on the controversy over the all-male speaker […]

In recent days, Kyiv has reported that a “significant number” of North Korean soldiers have participated in assaults on Ukrainian forces, allegedly suffering heavy losses as Russia uses them in more prominent combat roles. Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss what we know about Pyongyang’s military cooperation with Moscow and what to […]

This week, long-time North Korea aid worker Kathi Zellweger joins the podcast to discuss her more than two decades of work to help the people of the DPRK, especially children with hearing disabilities. She talks about her last trip to the country in 2019 before North Korea shut its borders to prevent the spread of […]

NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim sits down in the studio to discuss the latest events on the peninsula since South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3. She explains the confusion over who is in charge of defending the country against North Korean attack after Yoon ceded his authority, growing calls […]

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made the unprecedented decision to impose martial law on Tuesday, plunging the country into political chaos and leading the parliament to take action to force him to rescind the order just hours later. In a special joint episode, members of the NK News and Korea Pro teams dissect the dramatic […]

North Korea launched more balloons filled with trash across the border last week, just days after the leader’s sister denounced another round of alleged anti-regime leafleting. NK News Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer joins the podcast to discuss the latest launches and how local governments in South Korea are clamping down on activist leafleting due to […]

On this week’s episode, retired Major General Urs Gerber joins the podcast to discuss the current state of inter-Korean relations and what has changed since he served as head of the Swiss Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) in Panmunjom a decade ago. He also talks about the changing role of the NNSC since its formation […]

Kim Jong Un blasted U.S. support for Ukraine at a major army conference this week, despite ongoing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. NK News Junior Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the Fourth Conference of Korean People’s Army Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors held in Pyongyang earlier this month, as well […]