Impact of Xi’s planned visit to North Korea on the country’s civilian economy
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea on June 20-21 has garnered significant international interest on the impact it will have on the...
Is the US really a “hindrance” to inter-Korean reconciliation?
“When the foreign ministry proudly stated that a US-South Korean Working Group had been formed, I thought had just ‘shackled ourselves,’” said...
Untangling the North Korean Wig Manufacturing Industry
While much of the current discussion of North Korea’s trade has revolved around its arms sales, a new trend has been quietly emerging. Arms...
Parsing what was noteworthy from Kim Jong Un’s closing address
The Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea ended on Jan. 12. It continued for eight days after starting on Jan. 5. The...
Why on earth is Kim Ju Ae accompanying her father on various on-the-spot inspections?
On Apr. 18, Kim Jong Un visited the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) and ordered officials to “form an extraordinary satellite launch preparatory committee...
Bribe-hungry North Korean authorities await reunions for separated families
During a meeting between North and South Korea’s Red Cross organizations on July 22, it was agreed that a separated families reunion will be...
North Koreans forcibly mobilized for dangerous state construction projects
Most employees at state-run companies in the mid-1990s were only laborers in name; they were technically unemployed because the state was not providing them...
N. Korea is curiously silent about its upcoming general elections
South Korea is currently filled with excitement over its April general elections. The newspapers and news shows are plastered with party platforms and the...
Kim Jong Un’s demands for economic growth can only be answered by political reforms
In normal circumstances, economic growth is achieved by investing in labor-focused skills and physical infrastructure, the introduction of a marketized economic system, and protection...
Can 200 tons of tangerines restart talks between the US and North Korea?
The South Korean government sent 200 tons of tangerines from the country’s southern island of Jeju-do to North Korea on November 11-12. The gift...
