“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

Today’s question is from Zander in Champaign, Illinois, who asks what retirement is like in North Korea.

Hyun-seung Lee — who comes from an elite North Korean family and defected in 2014 — spoke with NK Newsabout the hardships most retirees face trying to make a living without a safety net