Featured Essays
Righteousness and Punishment: Xu Kunlin and Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Drive in Liaoning
Liaoning party chief makes mark in border province with DPRK.
A Review of ‘Nuclear North Korea’s Challenge to Deterrence Theories and Policies’, by Hwee-rhak Park
South Korean scholar introduces new concepts including ‘balance of fear’ to assess DPRK nuclear weapons in a global context.
Olympics on Ice: After Pyeongchang 2018, DPRK Misses another Winter Games
North Korean skiers helped build ties with the South in Pyeongchang. Since then, the DPRK, has missed all but one Games.
Below the Divide: A Review of ‘Fractured Liberation’, by Kornel Chang
Fresh account of societal and political dynamics in south Korea under US occupation brings local perspectives to the pre-Korean War era.
RG242 Files: The Day Kim Il-sung’s Voice Fell Silent
Pyongyang’s early radio station blacked out part of a speech by the North Korean leader, resulting in dismissals from the Party, and tighter controls.
Reading Rodong Sinmun, in South Korea
After decades of restrictions on North Korean literature, the ROK government has initiated reforms on the WPK’s flagship newspaper as it seeks to engage Pyongyang.
Smuggling and Border Security in Hunchun
Hunchun in Jilin province has stepped up border security and anti-smuggling operations on its North Korea frontier.
One Vision, Two Realities: Inside Urban and Rural North Korean Nurseries in the 1950s
Post-war era saw emergence of a ‘scientific’ childhood model – and a growing divide between cities and the countryside in the DPRK.
Man-Made No More: A Review of ‘Women-led Grassroots Capitalism’, by Dalton and Jung
Pioneering work sources dozens of DPRK migrants to determine female role in shift from state to market economy.
RG242 Files: Rare Early Political Prisoner Data from North Korea
NARA file from 1947 offers unique official snapshot of political detainees in early North Korea under Soviet rule, the origin of persistent rights abuses today.
After Berlin: Assessing UK Foreign Office Talks on Korean Unification in the 1990s
FCO archive release shows division on reunification discussions between ROK Embassy, and British officials and scholars soon after Soviet collapse.
Dropping Denuclearisation: North Korea in China and US Defence Priorities
US and Chinese government decisions to soften tone on nuclear threat represents latest positive for Pyongyang amid improving ties with global powers.
Diplomatic Review, Nov 2025: Remembering Kim Yong-nam
Death of DPRK’s longest-serving, senior government official follows decades of high-level diplomacy with Chinese leaders from Mao to Xi Jinping.
Divergent Foreign Policy on the Korean Peninsula, and ROK Security Priorities
With Pyongyang leaning towards Moscow, and the US focusing more on China than North Korea, Peninsula security priorities have entered a period of flux.
Business as Usual: Liaoning Leads China-DPRK Trade Revival
Sharp increase in trade with China’s main gateway to the DPRK comes amid signs of North Korea’s economic reopening after Covid-19.
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