Rodong Sinmun

Unstable Rhetoric: Few Additions, Some Changes, Lots of Omissions

By | February 23, 2017

In the second piece in his series on reading the North Korean media, Martin Weiser looks at the unstable nature of North Korean published rhetoric, which has a tendency to change across formats, and the ways in which this impacts upon reading and interpretation.

Purges, Baekdu, and the Moranbong Band: Data Points around General Hyon

By | May 16, 2015

Using music as a medium, Adam Cathcart takes the field of debate regarding the alleged purge and execution of Hyon Yong-chol into the ultra-politicized realm of concert halls and power stations.

Mountains and Seas of Gold: 2015 New Year’s Message

By | January 27, 2015

Robert Winstanley-Chesters returns to Sino-NK with his thoughts on Kim Jong-un’s 2015 New Year’s Address from a developmental and narrative point of view, going past – way, way past – debatable calls for inter-Korean rapprochement to look at the developmental sloughs and sumps therein concealed.

Communist Normalcy: How Authoritarian Leaders Disappear and Return

By | October 21, 2014

Kim Jong-un has now made a handful of public appearances since ending his 40+ days out of the public eye, and it appears clear that the young leader’s health was a major cause of his absence. This came as no surprise to analyst Nick Miller.

North Korean Scholars and Koguryo: How to Reignite a Historical Controversy on Chinese National Day

By | October 03, 2014

With a host of signs popping up that ties between Beijing and Pyongyang are poor, and a few that suggest the opposite, Adam Cathcart looks at how the North Korean government is currently brandishing an unmistakable totem of clashing nationalisms.