Ju Su-yang is 16 years-old and attends one of North Korea's 11 schools for disabled children. Rory Maclean met her for a new British Council exhibition on life in North Korea Day in the life of a dolphin trainer Day in the life of a footballer Ju Su-yang, 16, schoolgirl Born in Pyongyang, 4 November 1997 Every week, she completes the requisite page in her self-criticism diary, writing of her own shortcomings...
To suggest that those working for change in North Korea are driven solely by money is missing the point, says Christopher Green Debate: US grants putting people at risk, say experts Applications for the latest round of US government grants supporting North Korean projects closed yesterday. Normally these moments pass without a flicker of interest outside some very small circles, but this time the...
Analysts say funding projects that encourage people to break the law is irresponsible and counter-productive. NK News reports Debate: Criticising North Korea grants is 'ignorant and insulting' The US government's recent call for North Korea-focused grant proposals could encourage activities that put people at risk, several experts have told NK News . The call by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights...
Controversial new game invites players to take up Kim Jong-un's fight against "American imperialist hordes" American games developers have announced plans for a controversial new video game pitting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un against the US army. The game, Glorious Leader!, is a "retro style run n gun" game played over seven levels, which allows gamers to "defeat waves of imperialists,...
Landmark show unveiled despite setbacks stemming from dire relations between repressive state and western countries A unique exhibition, years in the planning and costing a small fortune to create, has opened in London with no advance publicity, for fear that the dire relations between North Korea and the west might sink the first cultural project of its kind. The exhibition of 81 colour photographs...
Unlike his father, Kim Jong-un has a taste for air travel. With his enthusiasm evident at three recent aviation events, NK News examines what's behind the propaganda The North Korean regime appears to be trying to revitalise the public image and perception of its air force and national airline, based on recent events and their portrayal in state media. Analysis of these events suggests Pyongyang is...
Is cannabis legal? Does the metro work? We asked you to submit your burning question to help separate fact from fiction. Here's the first round of responses The worlds interest in North Korea is dwarfed by the amount we really know about the so-called "hermit kingdom". With a media hungry for information, reports based on rumours or anonymous sources are not uncommon what our partners at...
Regime has changed tactics in fight to preserve 'ideological purity', Pyongyang source tells Daily NK At least 100 Pyongyang citizens have been internally exiled to remote mountainous areas after searches revealed they had viewed or were in possession of South Korean video content or other recorded materials, a Pyongyang-based source told Daily NK . According to the source, crackdowns on filmed content...
Pyongyang attacks US for what it says is a blindly backed conspiracy devised by 'political prostitute' Park Geun-hye North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of fabricating the results of an investigation that concluded Pyongyang had sent surveillance drones to spy on key South Korean installations in March. A spokesman for North Korea's military attacked the US for what it said was a blindly...
State newspaper says country is justified in using all available means to protect itself from challenges by US and South North Korea has renewed its threat to conduct a nuclear test amid heightened concern that the state may be on the path to building a nuclear arsenal. The repressive regime's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said the country was justified in using all available means to protect...
Beijing's contingency plans for the fall of Kim Jong-un have apparently been leaked to the media. What does this mean for Pyongyang's relations with its only major ally? When Japanese media reported that it had been leaked copies of China's contingency plans for the collapse of North Korea, some more excitable reports suggested that it could soon be "all over" for Kim Jong-un 's regime....
North Korea's crackdown on imports from the South leaves the capital short of its favourite snack, reports Daily NK Long popular with the people of North Korea , South Korean Choco Pies have disappeared without a trace from the markets of the capital, a Pyongyang-based source tells Daily NK . "Because of recent crackdowns, Choco Pies from the neighborhood below [South Korea] are hard to come...
Experts say move is significant despite refusal to review the majority of proposals. Daily NK reports The UH human rights council has presented North Korea with 268 recommendations to improve human rights in the country 185 of which the North has said it will consider. The recommendations, which follow the release of a dossier of human rights abuses in February, were presented to North Korea in Geneva...
Jonathan Steele on the ruthless politics and failed economy of the hermit kingdom Mention North Korea and people usually expect tales of horror or ridicule. There is good reason for both. A UN commission of inquiry came out in February with a report on the "unspeakable atrocities" committed in the country. "The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state...
Three captured aircraft were programmed to cross border, fly over military bases and return, defence ministry claims Three drones that crashed in South Korea had onboard flight programming that showed they were launched from North Korea and were meant to return after flying over military installations, the defence ministry in Seoul has said. South Korean and US officials jointly examined the three...
A new app offers travellers to North Korea tips on what to see and where to eat and drink in the largely off-limits country. The British-designed app also helps users plan and book their trip It may be one of the world's most restrictive destinations largely off limits to foreign journalists and impossible to visit without a government endorsed tour guide but one startup is hoping to shed new light...
He was one of Kim Jong-il's favourite propaganda poets until he defected from the secretive state in 2004. Now, Jang is one of Pyongyang's most vocal critics Jang Jin-Sung was 28 years-old when he first met Kim Jong-il . That rare audience with North Koreas late Supreme Leader in 1999 should have been the proudest day of his life. Instead, it was a catalyst for his eventual defection - one of the...
Innocent friendships, community and simple ways of life are just a few things North Koreans miss about home, they tell NK News Although many defectors feel they had no choice but to leave North Korea , its important to remember that the DPRK was once the place they called home in some cases for several decades or more. And while the South Korean government invests substantial resources in helping...
Experts say leaked contingency plans, which include the detention of leaders and establishment of refugee camps, may be valid but do not suggest that the alliance is weakening China has angrily dismissed reports that it has drawn up contingency plans for the collapse of the regime in North Korea, including measures to contain an influx of refugees and prevent unrest from spilling over the countries...
North Korean defectors often bear witness to torture and repression, and this week is no different. But what is daily life like for those who remain? 6am The day starts early in Pyongyang, the city described by the North Korean government as the "capital of revolution". Breakfast is usually corn or maize porridge, possibly a boiled egg and sour yoghurt, with perhaps powdered milk for children....