Features
Long-form reporting on timeless issues and human interest stories by NK News journalists and contributors.
Politics and the Korean language: a history of Chinese characters in the DPRK
Both simplified and traditional characters remain in use to this day
Dangerous myths: why North Korean culture idolizes the Koguryo period
DPRK-made cartoons often distort historical reality and perpetuate nationalist falsehoods
Underfunded: the urgent need for emergency reproductive health kits in N. Korea
Kits for pregnant women simple and effective, but only 1% of those targeted by UN in 2018 benefited
The historical roots of North Korea’s notoriously-unreliable statistics
From grain cultivation to heavy industry, manipulation of data made numbers larger than reality
“The great successor”: making sense of the rise and rise of Kim Jong Un
A new book paints a compelling, if limited, picture of the young leader’s life and changing country
Signage vendor gives insight into growing North Korean entrepreneurship
B2B vendor offers DPRK business owners bright and colorful signage to stand out
Dizzy with success: North Korea’s ambitious, and troubled, first five year plan
The DPRK's first experience with long-term economic planning produced mixed results
Dining out in the DPRK capital: Pyongyang’s (surprisingly) good restaurants
As consumer choice for the upper classes has grown, so too have options for eating out
Frenemies reunited: a brief history of Russian-North Korean summitry
With Kim Jong Un set to meet Putin, it's worth revisiting the two countries' past meetings
Take to the skies: North Korea’s role in the mysterious hijacking of KAL YS-11
Pyongyang used the incident to its advantage, though whether it played a direct role remains unclear
