Featured Essays
Seeking Sources: A Review of ‘Forever President’, by Michael Seth
One among a number of recent biographies on Kim Il-sung, this effort over relies on secondary sources, and covers little, if any, new terrain.
DPRK Media Review: Deepening Global Fault Lines
The main party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on condemnation of the US by China and Russia, and tensions with the EU, amid fractured alliances over Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran.
Chinese Initiatives and the New Yalu River Bridge
Dandong’s municipal government is aiming to finally open the long-stalled project sometime during the remainder of 2026. Will North Korea comply?
Navigating Powers: A Review of ‘The Other Great Game’, by Sheila Miyoshi Jager
Study of Joseon and the dynasty’s demise injects agency and nuance into understanding of Korea and its complex place in the region.
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.
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