Archive for December, 2012:
Ri Sol-ju, Conspicuous Wealth, and the “Military Wife” Type in the DPRK
SinoNK’s analyst for gender issues, Darcie Draudt, takes a look at Ri Sol-ju as part of a class of women who are doing increasingly well, thanks to their connections. Is such upward mobility to be emulated or despised?
Don’t Fear the Tiger: Huanqiu Shibao, Chinese Delegations, and Netizen Responses to the North Korean Rocket
China’s state media is urging calm as regards the North Korean rocket launch — or is it? Analysis/translation by Adam Cathcart and Roger Cavazos.
Double Defectors: Signifiers of Pyongyang’s Strategic Shift
Are these people spies? Genuine defectors fooled into returning? Or defectors making a rational choice based on their experiences of discrimination in the Republic of Korea? Brian Gleason investigates.
North Korea According to Our Words: How Do We Write about Those We Do Not Understand?
Shirley Lee (New Focus International) argues for a new approach to writing and understanding North Korea by engaging the groups that can provide the information needed to understand the country.