May 20, 2024

About the author

Jacco Zwetsloot

Jacco Zwetsloot has been the host of the NK News Podcast since episode 1 in February 2018. He has interviewed a wide range of guests about their knowledge of and experience in North Korea, from celebrity defectors to high-ranking U.S. government officials. His goal is to help as wide a cross-section of North Korea-related stories as possible be told, in order to build up a fuller picture. Jacco has a Master of Arts from Leiden University, for which he wrote a thesis on North Korean graphic novels.

More articles by 'Jacco Zwetsloot'

What the UN’s role in North Korea will look like going forward – Ep. 332
Podcast

What the UN’s role in North Korea will look like going forward – Ep. 332

Former UN resident coordinator Frode Mauring discusses dealing with the DPRK during the pandemic and what comes next

What the UN’s role in North Korea will look like going forward – Ep. 332
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News March 6, 2024
How a ‘new Cold War’ is making North Korea more risk-averse – Ep. 331
Podcast

How a ‘new Cold War’ is making North Korea more risk-averse – Ep. 331

Professor Ruediger Frank discusses why the DPRK is closing embassies but may not actually have abandoned reunification

How a ‘new Cold War’ is making North Korea more risk-averse – Ep. 331
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News February 28, 2024
What Kim Jong Un’s appearances can tell us about the DPRK regime – Ep. 330
Podcast

What Kim Jong Un’s appearances can tell us about the DPRK regime – Ep. 330

Researcher Martin Weiser discusses his work tracking North Korean officials, Kim Jong Un’s daughter and more

What Kim Jong Un’s appearances can tell us about the DPRK regime – Ep. 330
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News February 21, 2024
Analyzing the US-ROK alliance’s impact on North Korea’s policies – Ep. 329
Podcast

Analyzing the US-ROK alliance’s impact on North Korea’s policies – Ep. 329

Korea Economic Institute of America’s new president discusses his role assessing inter-Korean relations and latest book

Analyzing the US-ROK alliance’s impact on North Korea’s policies – Ep. 329
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News February 14, 2024
How North Korea started spat between Moscow and Seoul – Ep. 328
Podcast

How North Korea started spat between Moscow and Seoul – Ep. 328

The NK News team talks back and forth between Russia and ROK, the DPRK’s expanded coastal fencing and a new luxury mall

How North Korea started spat between Moscow and Seoul – Ep. 328
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News February 7, 2024
Has Kim Jong Un really made a strategic decision to go to war? – Ep. 327
Podcast

Has Kim Jong Un really made a strategic decision to go to war? – Ep. 327

Robert Carlin and Siegfried Hecker discuss their viral article on North Korea’s war rhetoric and respond to skeptics

Has Kim Jong Un really made a strategic decision to go to war? – Ep. 327
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News January 31, 2024
Covering North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s elite female entourage  – Ep. 326
Podcast

Covering North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s elite female entourage – Ep. 326

Journalist Chun Sujin discusses her experiences writing about the DPRK and her book on powerful women in the country

Covering North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s elite female entourage  – Ep. 326
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News January 24, 2024
Collecting evidence of North Korea’s human rights violations – Ep. 325
Podcast

Collecting evidence of North Korea’s human rights violations – Ep. 325

Head of UN Human Rights office in Seoul discusses forced abductions, plus why the DPRK is shutting down propaganda sites

Collecting evidence of North Korea’s human rights violations – Ep. 325
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News January 17, 2024
The role of translation in shedding light on North Korea – Ep. 324
Podcast

The role of translation in shedding light on North Korea – Ep. 324

Retired CIA officer Stephen Mercado discusses how analysts can mine non-Korean sources for insights into DPRK life

The role of translation in shedding light on North Korea – Ep. 324
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News January 10, 2024
Dissecting Kim Jong Un’s plenum speech on North Korea’s 2024 plans – Ep. 323
Podcast

Dissecting Kim Jong Un’s plenum speech on North Korea’s 2024 plans – Ep. 323

The NK News team discusses the DPRK’s overhaul of inter-Korean policy, future satellite launches and more

Dissecting Kim Jong Un’s plenum speech on North Korea’s 2024 plans – Ep. 323
Jacco Zwetsloot
Jacco Zwetsloot | NK News January 3, 2024
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