Columns
Columns on the latest North Korea issues from analysts, academics and renowned experts. Views expressed by our columnists are exclusively the authors’ own.
North Korea’s economic reforms were a wild success. Just ask defectors.
Regime’s aborted experiment with marketization increased food consumption, counter to pessimistic economic assessments
Remembering the Chinese samaritans who helped North Korean defectors in need
Some locals in China have gone out of their way to feed, shelter and protect DPRK refugees fleeing their homeland
A diplomat’s life: Christmas in North Korea has lots of lights but little cheer
While foreigners can celebrate privately, Dec. 25 is just another cold winter’s day for the rest of the country
Why North Korean history fixates on wars, invasions and peasant rebellions
Textbooks depict Joseon-era Korea as a feudal society in need of revolution that nonetheless repelled foreign invaders
Why North Koreans aren’t protesting against COVID lockdowns like the Chinese are
DPRK gives no space for disobedience, and even thinking the wrong thing may land entire families in concentration camps
How North Korea presents the possibility of a future female leader
Despite being a dictator, Kim Jong Un is something of a feminist — at least compared to his father and grandfather
Most North Koreans have tap water. But that doesn’t mean it’s always running.
Citizens have devised ad hoc solutions to unreliable water supply over the years, with entrepreneurship playing key role
Outside information can change North Korea. But it won’t start a revolution.
Heightened surveillance and border controls mean it's time to alter our approach to info warfare — and our expectations
Why North Korean state media delicately dances around taboo topics
Marketplaces, central supply networks and even census data are all off-limits, sometimes for reasons entirely unclear
With missile over Japan, North Korea reminds US that it’s not going anywhere
Pyongyang wants sanctions relief and will continue to ramp up pressure through tests until Washington relents
