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September 27, 2026Sep 27, 2026

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young, Ph.D. has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dakota State University and the U.S. Naval War College. He was a 2024-25 Stanton Foundation Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation. He is now an Assistant Professor of Intelligence Studies at Fayetteville State University. He is the author of the book "Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World" (Stanford University Press, 2021).

Analysis

Ideology still drives North Korea and China together

The dream of socialism may be dead in Eastern Europe but it is alive and well in East Asia

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungAugust 5, 2021
Evergreen

North Korea’s relations with Cuba: Revolutionary comrades and brothers-in-arms

Long united against U.S interventionism, the Havana protests show how far apart the two friends’ societies have drifted

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungJuly 13, 2021
Analysis

In Kim Jong Un’s speeches, Marx returns to North Korea

Reappearance of communism in country's discourse suggests regime's loss of ideological control due to pandemic

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungJuly 7, 2021

Why North Koreans are worried about Kim Jong Un’s weight loss

The DPRK may be highlighting his physical sacrifices to motivate citizens to work harder during the COVID-19 pandemic

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungJune 29, 2021
Analysis

How North Korea has waged ‘a war to improve nature’

Reforestation drive to create ‘treasure and gold mountains’ seems to be working

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungJune 2, 2021
Evergreen

How North Korea supports Palestine and aided Hamas

North Korea may have supplied illicit arms to Hamas, but support for Palestinian liberation goes much deeper

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungMay 20, 2021
Opinion

“Kingdom of discrimination”: North Korea’s long interest in U.S. race relations

The DPRK has for decades served as a notable, but deeply insincere, supporter of African American struggle

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungJune 2, 2020
Opinion

How sensationalizing Kim Jong Un clouds the real reason he can maintain his rule

Focus on the North Korean leader as a person detracts from the structures that keep the Kim family in power

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungMay 27, 2020
Evergreen

North Korea’s 1970s Hallyu: socialist spectaculars in the Third World

Kim Il Sung deployed art troupes as a way to spread his version of socialism and deepen diplomatic ties

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungApril 3, 2020
Features

The history of Cold War North Korea through the five stages of grief

The DPRK leadership's failure to unify the country during the Korean War left a deep scar on the national psyche

Benjamin R. YoungBenjamin R. YoungFebruary 26, 2020
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