North Korea >>

From his laugh to his hairstyle, Kim Jong-un has been emulating his late grandfather Kim Il-sung in an apparent attempt to project power and gravitas Continue reading... ...

Park Jeong-Geun was arrested and charged in 2012 for retweeting posts by the North's official Twitter account South Korea's top court has acquitted a man accused of sympathising with North Korea by retweeting posts by its government, arguing that his action poses little threat to national security. Park Jeong-Geun, a 26-year-old photographer, was arrested and charged in 2012 of violating the National...

UN inquiry found the North Korean government had committed crimes without 'parallel in the contemporary world' Former Australian high court justice Michael Kirby has demanded that North Korean leaders be tried in an international court for crimes against humanity, admitting that he broke down three times while hearing survivors testimony of atrocities carried out by the Kim regime. After more than...

Even the most avid North Korea watchers are divided on exactly how much power the young Kim wields. The North Korea network asked three analysts to share their views Kim Jong-un is the supreme leader of the DPRK. Claims that he is a puppet for a cabal of Workers Party of Korea officials or the Korean Peoples Army offer an inaccurate and misleading characterisation of the DPRKs political culture. Rather...

Photographer Aram Pan has returned from his latest trip to North Korea with a new selection of spectacular panoramic images, says Martyn Williams Singapore-based photographer Aram Pan is providing a new way of looking at North Korea through some spectacular panoramic images and videos of the country. Pan has just arrived back from his latest trip to Pyongyang and has already posted a panorama from...

A poet allowed into North Korea's inner circle has a riveting, bizarre tale to tell Jang Jin-sung, a 27-year-old North Korean poet, could hardly believe it when he received a summons to meet the first deputy director of the United Front Department (UDF) in Pyongyang. He was working in the covert operations carried out by Section 5 (Literature) of Division 19 (Poetry) of office 101, the UDF's policy-making...

Man reportedly put to death after being caught phoning South Korea, according to testimony from inside the highly secretive state. Daily NK reports The death sentence has been imposed upon at least one person caught making phone contact with South Korea from a location near the Chinese-North Korean border, Daily NK has learned via detailed testimony from a source in the region. At the beginning of...

South Korean naval ship on patrol near disputed maritime boundary in Yellow Sea was not hit in incident North Korea fired into disputed waters near a South Korean warship on Thursday, a South Korean military officer has said. The officer said North Korea fired artillery towards a naval ship engaged in a routine patrol mission near the countries' disputed maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea. The South...

Sir Howard Stringer also suggests BBC should consider new language service in countries such as Ethiopia or North Korea BBC News should consider partnerships with foreign broadcasters and look at launching new services, such as a TV channel in Africa or radio news for North Korea, according to a report. Continue reading... ...

Cinemagoers are immersed in the outside world through screenings in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un is a fan of the technology, created in the DPRK and has suggested more screens outside the capital, NK news report North Korean state media have released an in-depth promotional video highlighting visitor experiences at the recently opened Runga 4D Simulation Cinema. The video which shows visitors being vigorously...

May is the busiest time of year, when authorities push every citizen to plant rice to meet the country's agricultural needs. Defectors tell Daily NK what life is like on the farms The busiest time of year for the North Korean people falls from mid-May until the end of June, as the authorities push every citizen to complete the nations rice planting tasks. Everybody is expected to participate, from...

Pyongyang is cooperating with global strategy on climate change, writes Dr Benjamin Habib . The question is, why? When we think of North Korea, we think of a nation determined to be an outsider in the international community. Whether its testing nuclear weapons or threatening London hairdressers , the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is not usually associated with compliance. But there is compelling...

Pyongyang's embassy instrumental in facilitating arms deals and circumventing sanctions, according to UN. NK News reports The Presidium of the Supreme Peoples Assembly North Koreas legislature has confirmed the appointment of Pak Chang-yul as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreas new ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, North Korea's official news agency KCNA reported Saturday . The DPRK-Cuba relationship...

State media has made the rare move of reporting a "serious accident". Breaking with tradition, the regime is attempting to portray itself as accountable, writes Choson Exchange On Sunday, North Koreas state media, Rodong Sinmun reported a serious accident in the construction site in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang on May 13 , which a South Korean official said may have killed hundreds of people . In...

Event in August will be jointly organised with Japanese wrestler and politician Antonio Inoki. NK News reports North Koreas state news agency has said it will host an international pro wrestling event in Pyongyang in late August. The contest will be jointly organised by Kanji Inoki, better known as Antonio Inoki , currently a member of the upper house of Japans government and, famously, a former professional...

An unknown number of people died when a building under construction collapsed in Pyongyang North Korea has apologised to bereaved families after an apartment building collapsed in Pyongyang last week, the official KCNA news agency said, a rare admission of fallibility from the reclusive state. It is unknown how many died in the accident. Pyongyang's expression of "profound consolation and apology"...

Death of Hyon Song-wol, supposedly the former girlfriend of Kim Jong-un, was reported in Japan and South Korea A North Korean singer said to be leader Kim Jong-un's former girlfriend and rumoured to have been executed last year has appeared on state television, apparently alive and well. Pyongyang's state TV showed Hyon Song-wol, the head of a band known as Moranbong, delivering a speech at a national...

The North Korea network invited the chair of the UN inquiry on Pyongyang's human rights abuses to take part in an Ask Me Anything session with Reddit users. Here are our highlights In February, the UN's commission of inquiry into human rights in North Korea published a damning report detailing human rights abuses committed by the country's leadership against its own people. They compared the scale...

Ri Myong-guk played in goal for North Korea at the 2010 World Cup, and insists his teammates were welcomed home after they were knocked out. Rory Maclean met him for a new British Council exhibition on North Korea Day in the life of a dolphin trainer Day in the life of a deaf schoolgirl Ri Myong-guk, 26, footballer Born in Pyongyang, 9 September 1986 [Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup] was the proudest...

Kim Yun-gyong is one of the eight carefully-selected dolphin trainers at Pyonyang's dolphinarium. Rory Maclean met her for a new British Council exhibition on life in North Korea Day in the life of a deaf schoolgirl Day in the life of a footballer Kim Yun-gyong, 24, dolphin trainer Born in Pyongyang, 2 October 1988 The careful choreography of man and animal is designed to emphasise the necessity of...