Ambassador recall, remote work scams and the lives of North Korea’s elites

North Korea’s closer ties with China, Russia — and what Washington can do

NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins this week’s podcast to discuss North Korea’s deepening ties with China and Russia, starting with Premier Pak Thae Song’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing during a visit marking the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK alliance treaty. He also previews Wang Huning’s upcoming visit to Pyongyang and explains what these high-level exchanges suggest about where Beijing-Pyongyang ties stand. The conversation turns to Russia’s growing demand for North Korean labor, before breaking down a strange Russian court case involving a failed corn shipment to North Korea and how it exposed DPRK sanctions-evasion networks. In the second part of the episode, retired senior U.S. diplomat Susan Thornton discusses the “fire and fury” period of 2017, the Trump-Kim summit process and what lessons Washington should draw from that era of direct diplomacy with Pyongyang. She also delves into whether denuclearization remains a realistic goal, what interim steps the U.S. could pursue, how China and Russia are shaping North Korea’s strategic calculations and what a realistic policy success might look like in the years ahead. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill 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 Korea’s new destroyers, China border trade and Seoul’s coexistence dilemma

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins this week’s podcast to discuss North Korea’s naval modernization push, from Kim Jong Un’s latest cruise missile test from the Kang Kon destroyer to the recent commissioning of the Choe Hyon, the country’s first 5,000-ton warship to formally enter service. He also breaks down his latest NK Pro analysis on the apparent restart of makeshift smuggling routes across the North Korea-China border, including what satellite imagery shows, why private vehicles appear to be a major driver of the trade and what the activity suggests about China’s willingness to tolerate sanctions violations while maintaining plausible deniability. Afterward, Gabriela Bernal joins the podcast to discuss her analysis on South Korea’s shift toward “peaceful coexistence” with North Korea and what Seoul can learn from the Balkans.  She explains the concept of “functional coexistence,” why Serbia-Kosovo dialogue offers a useful but limited comparison and what role institutions like the U.N. Command, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission and the Military Armistice Commission can play.  About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill 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.

Destroyer deployment, missile tests, drone warfare and North Korea’s near misses

This week’s episode of the NK News Podcast looks at North Korea’s military modernization, from Kim Jong Un’s new 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer to recent tactical missile and artillery tests. Korea Risk Group Correspondent Joon Ha Park discusses what the destroyer adds to Pyongyang’s navy, why its assignment to the West Sea Fleet matters and what South Korea’s delayed public confirmation of a Hwasong-11D launch reveals about missile disclosure policy. He also breaks down Seoul’s push to expand drone and counter-drone capabilities — including loitering munitions, laser and microwave defenses — and plans to train hundreds of thousands of “drone warriors.” Afterward, Dr. Fyodor Tertitskiy joins the podcast to discuss his new book, “Pyongyang on the Brink,” which explores 16 crises that could have changed North Korea’s history — and what they reveal about the survival, fragility and possible future of the Kim dynasty. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill 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.

Ambassador recall, remote work scams and the lives of North Korea’s elites

This week’s episode of the NK News Podcast looks at North Korea’s decision to recall its ambassador to the U.K. just weeks after his appointment, in protest over British sanctions on the Songdowon International Children’s Camp.  NK News Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses why the camp holds symbolic importance for Pyongyang, its links to Russia and Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled territories, and what the diplomatic downgrade could mean for DPRK-U.K. relations. He also examines a new Nisos investigation into a North Korean IT worker network that submitted nearly 170,000 job applications and secured more than 21,000 interviews over nine months.  Later on, Jieun Baek joins the podcast to discuss her new book “Privileged But Powerless,” which examines the lives of North Korea’s elites through interviews with senior-level defectors.  She explains how diplomats, party officials and other elites can enjoy access and status while remaining vulnerable to surveillance, purges and shifting political pressures, as well as why fear and “performative loyalty” continue to shape behavior among those closest to power. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill 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.

Brian Davis on how the US military collects intel: North Korea Unpacked

This month, retired U.S. Army Col. Brian Davis joins North Korea Unpacked with Jacco Zwetsloot to discuss lessons from his nearly 40-year career spanning some of the most consequential periods in U.S.-DPRK relations. He talks about how intelligence on North Korea is gathered and analyzed, how U.S. and South Korean military priorities shifted from conventional threats to nuclear and missile programs and why Pyongyang remains one of the world's most difficult intelligence targets.  Davis also reflects on the 2017 "fire and fury" period, the risks of military action against North Korea and what lessons Pyongyang may have drawn from conflicts in Ukraine, Iran and elsewhere. He also recounts one of the most unusual episodes of his career: crossing the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjom to help service a fax machine gifted to North Korean counterparts. U.S. Army Col. Brian Davis is a former military intelligence officer, a role in which he analyzed DPRK military capabilities, threat environments and decision-making at an operational level. About the podcast: North Korea Unpacked with Jacco Zwetsloot is a monthly long-form interview series from the NK News Podcast, featuring in-depth conversations with experts and specialists on North Korea. The regular weekly NK News Podcast, hosted by Alannah Hill, continues to cover the latest developments in the North Korea news cycle.