“Be Prepared!” Reflections On The North Korean Children’s Union
Looking at the structure, ritual, and uniforms at last week’s congress for the Korean Children’s Union (KCU), Christopher Richardson, doctoral candidate at the University of Sydney, delves into the renewed significance of the Children’s Union just as the nation marches onward in the second year under the young leader.
Editor’s Note: Oxford-Seoul Nexus–Sino-NK at Engage Korea and Asan Plenum
Scholarship and debate are at the core of the Sino-NK enterprise. Sabine van Ameijden, the group’s Research Coordinator, brings out several abstracts given by our writers at recent conferences.
High on Comradeship: China Publicizes the DPRK Drugs Issue
Nick Miller reviews an intriguing Global Times report from mid-March, one that looks a lot like a public shot across North Korea’s drug-producing bow.
Press Conference as Discursive Battleground: Pyongyang’s Evolving “Double Defector” Propaganda
As the case of the “Laos Nine” reverberates, Brian Gleason examines the motivations and tactics behind Pyongyang’s recent move to place “redefectors” front and center in the public discourse within North Korea itself in the second installment of a two-part series.
Salvaging a Misstep? Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae in Beijing
V.Mar Choe Ryong-hae managed to press the CPC flesh in Beijing just before the Xi-Obama summit in California at the end of this week. Following on from his timely May 23 analysis of Choe’s trip as it was happening, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga analyzes the fallout.





