Technocrats get more respect with Kim’s renewed economic drive
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-Un has recently installed economic technocrats to key higher posts in a sign he will focus efforts on rebuilding the (more…)
Seoul’s loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts terrified Kim Jong-Un
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee North Korea’s recent wild swings between confrontation and detente shows how deeply Kim Jong-Un feared South Korea’s loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts, officials and analysts here said. (more…)
Report: North Korean vice premier Choe Yong-Gon executed
North Korea has executed vice premier Choe Yong-Gon, another in a series of high-level purges, according to a South Korean media report. Choe, 63, was said to have been (more…)
Pyongyang scrambles to repair China ties as bad economy worsens
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is moving to improve ties with China that have been strained during much of the young leader’s brief tenure, officials and sources here say. (more…)
N. Korea said plotting military provocation to counter ‘unusual’ unrest
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee North Korea has prepared a massive military parade and most likely military provocations in a bid to stabilize the ruling elite and the public, military (more…)
N. Korea confirms new defense chief after predecessor’s execution
Two months after South Korea’s intelligence agency tellingly disclosed the shocking execution of Kim Jong-Un’s defense chief Vice Marshal Hyon Yong-Chol by close-range anti-aircraft gun fire, Pyongyang officially dispelled (more…)
Defector: Defense minister executed for challenging budget decision
North Korea’s cash flow has tightened significantly due to its growing trade deficit and internal struggles over the allocation of funds from the exports of natural resources. SUBSCRIBE l (more…)
Report: North Korea’s execution of defense minister confirmed
Gen. Hyon Yong-chol, the highest ranking North Korean uniformed officer, was indeed executed in late April, as initially reported by the South Korean intelligence agency but has remained unconfirmed (more…)
Kim’s older brothers — one in China — still seen as viable options
By Dr. Jong-Heon Lee North Korea has from the outset been dominated by the monolithic leadership of the “suryong (chieftain).” In the totalitarian environment created in the northern half (more…)