NK Insider

08/28/2026

Is Trump about to try to solve the Korea question?

"Eighteen months into his second term – after tariffs, serious arguments with America’s closest allies, and interventions in Nicaragua, Gaza and Iran – is U.S. President Donald J. Trump now turning his attention to another long-festering problem: the Korean Peninsula?

And if he is, what could go right – and what could go wrong?"

Eighteen months into his second term – after tariffs, serious arguments with America’s closest allies, and interventions in Nicaragua, Gaza and Iran – is U.S. President Donald J. Trump now turning his attention to another long-festering problem: the Korean Peninsula? And if he is, what could g...

08/28/2026

A defector recalls how Kim Jong-un was perceived when he first came to power, and how surprised those around her were by his close resemblance to the country’s founder and first ruler, Kim Il-sung:

“Back then, we studied his face for a long time.

‘He really does look like the Great Leader when he was young.’ That was what we used to call his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

The hairstyle, the shape of his face, even the way he dressed — all of it was similar. Even his smile reminded us of Kim Il-sung in his younger years.

For North Koreans, this was not simply a matter of physical resemblance. Our memories of his grandfather were very different from our memories of what followed under his father, Kim Jong-il.”

Today, I came across an article with a photograph of Kim Jong-un smiling brightly. The moment I saw his face as he waved to the crowd, I remembered the first time I saw his picture on TV in North Korea. Back then, we studied his face for a long time. “He really does look like Today, I came across ...

08/28/2026

Trump wants Kim back at the table. This time, Kim holds the cards.

"Pyongyang’s response to the latest overture looks less like a rejection than a price tag. In an August 19 statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong, a top official and sister of Kim, said she knew 'nothing' about Trump’s claim of recent communication between the two leaders. She dismissed the reduction in the joint exercises as unworthy of comment and said North Korea had 'no interest' in it.

Yet she also said Kim retained “good personal memories and feelings” toward Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remained 'excellent.'"

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to revive summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. American officials told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was pressing aides to arrange a meeting as early as this autumn and had privately discussed meeting Kim during a trip to Asia for the Asia-Pac...

08/20/2026

North Korean authorities are reportedly taking steps to improve the country’s appearance by supplying glass for the windows of houses facing China.

Under the slogan “the border is the face of the country,” residents are being encouraged to replace plastic sheeting with glass in their windows...

North Korean authorities are reportedly taking steps to improve the country’s appearance by supplying glass for the windows of houses facing China. Under the slogan “the border is the face of the country,” residents are being encouraged to replace plastic sheeting with glass in their windows. ...

08/20/2026

Why is North Korea sending women to Russia?

"I recently saw a report about an advertisement on an online marketplace offering to supply 40 North Korean female workers to a single workplace. According to the report, the women could work in restaurants, production lines, garment factories or agriculture. One condition was the “package deal” – in other words, all 40 had to move and work as a single group rather than being dispatched to different workplaces.

The moment I saw the report, memories of what I experienced in North Korea just three years ago came rushing back..."

I recently saw a report about an advertisement on an online marketplace offering to supply 40 North Korean female workers to a single workplace. According to the report, the women could work in restaurants, production lines, garment factories or agriculture. One condition was the “package deal” ...

08/12/2026

In North Korea, a newspaper editorial isn’t just propaganda. It can be a warning of what comes next: new quotas, forced mobilizations, material demands—and blame for anyone who falls short.

Here’s how words on a page become obligations for millions. 👇

Several years ago, when I worked at a state institution in Pyongyang, an order arrived from higher authorities to launch a new project. The goal was ambitious, but we lacked the materials, electricity, manpower, and time to achieve it. One official cautiously pointed this out, saying, “Realistical...

08/04/2026

(OSLO SCHOLARS): Cryptocurrency can help North Korean defectors save their families

For many North Korean defectors, sending remittance payments through covert networks back into the country ensures their family’s survival. However, as much as 70% of a remittance payment can be lost to broker fees and transaction costs.

Oslo Scholar and NK Insider summer intern, Ahryanna McGuirk, researches how cryptocurrency could help strengthen financial freedom for North Korean defectors and the families they continue to support from abroad.

Using case studies of cryptocurrency networks across Venezuela, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Myanmar, and Russia, she explores how digital currencies could reduce the costs of international remittances by bypassing the traditional international banking system. McGuirk argues that crypto can support defector-led organizations and expand financial resilience outside the regime's purview.

Read the full article and the research paper at NK Insider. Readers may follow Ahryanna McGuirk on LinkedIn for updates on her work.

(Link to full article in the comments; Image credit: iStock/Alex Sholom, cgtoolbox)

08/04/2026

(OSLO SCHOLARS): Can technology safely connect North Koreans to the outside world?

As North Korea tightens its grip on information, finding safe ways to connect with ordinary citizens has never been more challenging.

Oslo Scholar and NK Insider summer intern, Ahryanna McGuirk, explores how technology can be leveraged by activists to circumvent authoritarian regimes.

Drawing on existing research, public databases, and insights from recent North Korean defectors, she examines the potential for a secure method of two-way communication inside North Korea. Rather than searching for a single technological solution, McGuirk proposes a layered, risk-aware approach: sustaining one-way information channels, such as radio broadcasts, USBs, and SD cards; limiting two-way communication to carefully managed networks with strong operational security and informed consent; investing in safer technologies, legal pathways, and digital security tools; and continuing research with defectors and technical experts.

McGuirk argues that while technologies such as satellite internet, satellite messengers, and Chinese cell phones may be viable, expanding access to outside information through trusted methods like radio broadcasts, USB drives, and SD cards remains essential in challenging one of the world's most restrictive information environments.

Read the full article and the research paper at NK Insider. Readers may follow Ahryanna McGuirk on LinkedIn for updates on her work.

(Link to full article in the comments; Image credit: NK Insider)

08/04/2026

(OSLO SCHOLARS): As fewer North Koreans escape, their stories matter more than ever

Oslo Scholar and NK Insider summer intern, Natalie Meulenbroek, calls on international actors to address the recently reported decline in North Korean defectors.

She discusses the implications of North Korea’s 2020 “Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture” and the ensuing crackdown on information sharing within the country. Combined with a record-low of successful defections in the first quarter of 2026, she argues that media outlets, foreign governments, human rights organizations, and individuals must promote defector stories.

Meulenbroek argues that ordinary North Korean citizens deserve uncensored access to freedom of speech and the press. The positive feedback loop is straightforward: “When people are denied the truth, propaganda is easy to sustain. If citizens are exposed to democratic ideals, South Korean entertainment, uncensored news, and the truth about the North Korean government, it will erode the regime’s political authority.”

Her essay highlights the impact of initiatives like Flash Drives for Freedom on combatting censorship and exposing human rights abuses.

Read the full article to hear her call to action. Readers may follow Natalie Meulenbroek on LinkedIn for updates on her work.

(Link to full article in the comments; Image credit: Seoul Unification Ministry)

08/03/2026

(OP-ED): Electricity, not slogans: What North Korean women really need

Jang Mi reflects on her childhood growing up in North Korea and the reality that women face with the Confucian façade of the “wise mother and good wife.”

In North Korean society, women do not experience the same social and political rights that they do elsewhere in the world. Jang Mi imagines the day where she can be reunited with her friends and family who remain in the North, but fears that the hardships associated with being a woman in North Korea will have changed them.

Jang Mi recounts stories of her mother, grandmother, and what her future would have inevitably been had she not defected in 2019. She continues on to demand change, “What these women need now is not political rights that exist in name only. They need real electricity, real technology, and the economic freedom that makes a dignified human life possible.”

(Link to full article in the comments; Image credit: Roman Harak, CC BY-SA 2.0)