North Korea News Podcast NK News

In recent weeks, the mandate of the U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions against North Korea expired. Evidence emerged that the DPRK is phasing out the use of the term “Day of the Sun” to refer to Kim Il Sung’s birthday. The regime released a new song praising Kim Jong Un. And new data from Seoul’s unification ministry showed that defector numbers remain low.



Christopher Green of Leiden University joins the NK News team in the studio to discuss these developments and the biggest North Korea-related stories from the last month.  



This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:



NK News Founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl)

Seoul Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) 



Christopher Green (@Dest_Pyongyang) is an assistant professor of Korean studies at Leiden University and the Korean Peninsula Analyst at International Crisis Group. 



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean trade with its top economic partner China rebounded in March to nearly $160 million, in the latest sign of strength in bilateral exchange. NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss what we can learn from China’s officials trade data, as well as Moscow’s plan to send some 40 zoo animals to Pyongyang.



Then, Sojin Lim at the University of Central Lancashire discusses sustainable development in North Korea and why the DPRK complies with some international norms while shunning others.



Dr. Sojin Lim is a reader in Asia Pacific studies with special reference to Korea at the University of Central Lancashire. She leads the MA North Korean Studies course and is co-director of the International Institute of Korean Studies at the university’s School of Psychology and Humanities. 



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led a salvo missile launch to test the country’s “Nuclear Trigger’ system” for the first time this week. NK News Deputy Managing Editor Alannah Hill (@alannahmhill) sits down in the studio to discuss the test, as well as the release of a new song praising the country’s “friendly father” and allegations that DPRK animators may have had a hand in a popular Amazon Prime show.



Then, North Korea analyst Jacob Bogle joins the podcast to discuss his work on the AccessDPRK blog, which maps the DPRK using open-source satellite imagery. He explains how he aims to focus on areas that other analysts overlook and uncover trends that can reveal more about the lives of everyday North Koreans.



Bogle also talks about some of his most exciting finds and how he turns imagery into a narrative for stories on NK Pro, including on North Korea’s expansion of its coastal fencing and a fence being built around Pyongyang. 



Jacob Bogle (@JacobBogle) has been a North Korea analyst since 2013 and runs the AccessDPRK blog. He is also a certified architectural drafter and pharmacy technician. 



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

With the end of the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea fast approaching, NK News founder Chad O’Carroll (@chadocl) sits down in the studio to discuss the pros and cons of four alternative ways that like-minded countries could continue to monitor enforcement of the DPRK sanctions regime.



Then, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Trimble joins the podcast to discuss his time negotiating with North Koreans at Panmunjom in a bid to regularize general meetings, as well as his role in the establishment of a General Officer crisis management dialogue channel with the DPRK. 



Trimble first came to the peninsula as part of the U.S. Forces Korea in the early 1990s before being assigned to the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission in 1997.



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

South Koreans head to the polls on April 10 to cast their votes in the general election to choose their next legislators. The NK News team sits down in the studio to discuss what impact, if any, North Korea has played in the campaigns of those vying for a seat in the National Assembly.



They also talk about a recent incident involving a South Korean YouTuber called a “puppet” by a waitress at a North Korean restaurant in China, why the ROK military has installed rotary cannons and other weapons on some of Seoul’s tallest buildings and other top stories from the last month.



This week’s episode features the following members of the NK News team:



Seoul Correspondent Ifang Bremer (@IfangBremer)

News Trainee Lina Park (@linaprk)

News Trainee Joon Ha Park (@joonhawrites) 



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Russia controversially vetoed a resolution to maintain the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea last week. NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) and news trainee Joe Smith (@nkjoesmith) sit down in the studio to discuss what’s next for the key institution monitoring the DPRK sanctions regime, as well as North Korea’s curious censoring of a British gardening legend’s jeans and its last minute decision to cancel a World Cup qualifier against Japan.



Then, Emil Boivin of the North Korean Archives and Library (NKAAL) joins the podcast to talk about the project to archive as much DPRK media as possible and make it more accessible. He also discusses how the volatility of North Korean media leads to difficulties in archiving cultural materials that can disappear at any time.



Based in Canada, Emil Boivin first became interested in North Korean media after screening DPRK films during his time at university. He collects DPRK books, DVDs and other media and was first tasked with filing and data storage for NKAAL (@NorthNKAAL) when it was created in 2020. 



About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.