North Koreans read the party-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper in the Pyongyang subway on Oct. 6, 2016 | Image: NK News (edited)
Editor’s note: What If? is an NK News series featuring scenarios about North Korea’s future. Articles in this series draw on verified facts and rigorous analysis to explore hypothetical events in the years and decades ahead.
It’s Feb. 2024 — four years after North Korea closed its borders due to COVID-19 — and the Ministry of State Security has expanded its influence to become one of the most powerful agencies in the DPRK government.
Editor’s note: What If? is an NK News series featuring scenarios about North Korea’s future. Articles in this series draw on verified facts and rigorous analysis to explore hypothetical events in the years and decades ahead.
It’s Feb. 2024 — four years after North Korea closed its borders due to COVID-19 — and the Ministry of State Security has expanded its influence to become one of the most powerful agencies in the DPRK government.
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Chad O'Carroll is the founder of NK News/NK Pro and related holding company Korea Risk Group. In addition to being the group's CEO, O'Carroll is a frequent writer and commentator about the Koreas, having written about the two nations since 2010. He has visited the DPRK multiple times, worked and lived in Washington, D.C. with a focus on peninsula issues, and lived in the ROK since 2016.