NK Leadership

Through Frosted Glass: Zhang Liangui on China’s DPRK Intel and the Purge of Jang Song-taek

By | March 29, 2014

In the second part of an extensive interview, Zhang Liangui discusses the DPRK leadership, the North Korean domestic political landscape, and the genealogical roots of the Kim dynasty. Emile Dirks translates.

“Tag X” and the German Leg of the Park-Kim Summit Question

By | March 27, 2014

Leveraging her strong public image overseas, President Park Geun-hye is currently in Europe. She gave a well-received address to the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands, and then moved on to Germany. In the midst of a packed German agenda, she gave this interview to journalist Philipp Abresch.

North Korean Missiles and Chinese Passenger Aircraft

By | March 12, 2014

A North Korean missile narrowly misses a Chinese passenger jet and an open rift is revealed. Read the full translation and analysis of PLA General Wang Hongguang’s op-ed, all by Sino-NK’s chief editor.

Justifying Hereditary Succession in North Korea

By | March 09, 2014

Is the succession process to Kim Jong-un complete, or still very much in train? Sino-NK’s chief editor analyzes a recently-unearthed speech by the supreme leader.

Back to the Primary Source: Hunting for Kim Il-sung’s “May 25th Instructions”

By | February 19, 2014

1967 was a key year in ensuring that the Kim family’s iron-fisted ideological control of the DPRK would continue indefinitely. At the forefront of this process was a speech delivered on May 25 that year. The problem is that no foreigner has ever seen it, and it has long been misidentified by South Korean scholars. Hwang Jang-yop turns in his grave, while Fyodor Tertitskiy investigates.