The Pyongyang regime commits grave human rights abuses while diverting funds towards a nuclear weapons programme. How should the international community respond? NK News asked North Korean defectors for their views Welcome to the Guardian North Korea network Fears of food shortages outside Pyongyang Engage or isolate? Praise or punish? Depending on who you talk to, suggested strategies and tactics...
Insiders report plentiful rations in the 'revolutionary capital' but failure to distribute supplies elsewhere, reports DailyNK Welcome to the Guardian North Korea network Refugees on how the world should respond to regime North Korean authorities have ceased distributing regular food rations outside Pyongyang despite promises that supplies would "return to normal", Daily NK has learned....
US president warns Pyongyang of sanctions with 'more bite' if it goes ahead with fourth nuclear test North Korea's threats will only make it more isolated, Barack Obama has said, warning Pyongyang of sanctions with "more bite" if it went ahead with a fourth nuclear test. The US president's arrival in South Korea for a two-day visit was overshadowed by growing signs that North Korea is making...
Some thought the queens of North Korea's pop music scene had fallen out of favour, but after a six-month hiatus the group has returned to rave reviews from state media Step aside, Sea of Blood Opera . North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's favourite guitar-slinging, miniskirt-sporting girl group, the Moranbong Band , is back. And these ladies know how to shimmy. After a six-month hiatus, the queens of...
From the colleges of Pyongyang to a barber shop in Gunnersbury , there's been a lot of talk about Kim Jong-un's hairstyle recently. They may not be forced to copy their leader, but what are the customs for the coiffures of ordinary citizens? Read about North Korea's fashion police Continue reading... ...
Unwritten rules on personal style are enforced by a small army of young communists, but that doesn't stop some trendsetters from pushing the boundaries North Korea network: follow the Guardian and our partners for unique reporting and analysis She fell in love the moment she saw them. Black, high-heeled and zipped up the side, the boots were irresistible - even with their sizeable price tag and dangerous...
New images taken from the International Space Station show North Korea's changing landscape. Where previous images have shown the country shrouded in darkness, unlike neighbouring South Korea, now specks of light can be seen. Scientists say this changing picture can be used to track North Korea's economic progress Continue reading... ...
In pictures taken from the International Space Station, most of North Korea is shrouded in darkness - but it's the tiny specs of light that are worth examining, says Witness to Transformation North Korea network: follow the Guardian and our partners for unique reporting and analysis New images taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station this year captured a fresh view of the Korean peninsula...
In a rare move, North Korea invited seismologist James Hammond to assess the world's most enigmatic volcano. He tells Alex Peel he believes science could help Pyongyang open up A thousand years ago, it was responsible for one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. It left a four-kilometre-wide hole in the east-Asian landscape and a thick blanket of ash over the Korean peninsula and beyond....
Behind the scenes of the propaganda movie industry: documentary film-makers Lynn Lee and James Leong followed the making of an anti-Japanese propaganda movie meant to glorify North Korea's 50 year-old Songun or 'military first' campaign. These excerpts from their documentary, The Great North Korean Picture Show, reveal the determination of cast and crew to please the Pyongyang regime. Watch the full...
Patients said to be taking methamphetamine as medicine because drugs are too expensive despite promise of universal healthcare Touring a new hospital in Pyongyang recently, North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, boasted that it would let the people live in luxury and comfort under socialism in good health. But North Koreans interviewed in China paint a grimmer picture of medical conditions across their...
A crowd of North Koreans was treated to a rare viewing of photographs of their leader Kim Jong-un as a child. At the end of a concert airing the first meeting between Kim and the country's air force, the big screen showed a chronological documentary of the family dynasty including a child Kim Jong-un, met by rapturous applause from the audience Continue reading... ...
Officials attending the highest branch of state power are given new clothes, colour TVs and fridges, a defector and former delegate tells Daily NK Kim Jong-un was re-elected as first chairman of the national defence commission, the highest office in the country, at the inaugural session of the 13 th Supreme Peoples Assembly in Pyongyang in March. The SPA is North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature,...
To accompany the latest images we've put together a selection of photographs of the North Korean leader going about his duties Continue reading... ...
Defence ministry in Seoul reports increased activity at Punggye-ri where three previous detonations were carried out North Korea may be preparing to carry out its fourth nuclear test, South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday, citing a significant step-up in activity at the North's main test site. "Our military is currently detecting a lot of activity in and around the Punggye-ri nuclear...
It's one of the most secretive places on the planet, making it the subject of much speculation and rumour. How much do you really know? Continue reading... ...
If you want to know what North Koreans really think of their homeland, the best place to go is Yanji in northern China. The border city is home to a large ethnic Korean population who are more free to talk about the situation back home but still fear for their families if their faces are shown Continue reading... ...
Although photography is tightly controlled, the images that do emerge are often compelling. Here's a glimpse of daily life Continue reading... ...
Son Jung-hun escaped 12 years ago in search of a better life. Now, disillusioned with the South, he is planning to return Son Jung-hun first entertained thoughts of life outside North Korea in the 1980s, after chaperoning guests at an international youth event in Pyongyang. As a trade official working under Jang Song-thaek, the recently executed uncle of the Norths leader , Kim Jong-un , Son was part...
Little is known about the Pyongyang regime and speculation often fills the void. Help us separate fact from fiction by submitting myths to be debunked or questions to be answered Have all North Korean students been required to get Kim Jong-uns haircut? Not likely, say reports from the ground . Did Kim Jong-un order an enemy of the state to be executed by flamethrower? Theres no solid confirmation....