Kim Jong-un camp followers to cavort with Manhattan’s Marxists… US Juche jamboree, part Comintern, part bombintern
For anyone seeking insight into the nature and scope of the pro-North Korea movement in the United States, an opportunity is just about to arise....
The anti-Americanism and pro-North Korea tendencies of South Korea’s Candlelight Action protest movement
After President Yoon Seok-yeol took office in May 2022, there was immediately a rebirth of the so-called candlelight protests which had targeted and led to...
Profile of the Pro-North Korea movement in the United States
Editorial Note: The following article gives an overview of the character of the pro-North Korea movement in the U.S. It provides a portrait of the...
Exclusive: Documents and personal items found on the body of a North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast region (1)
HRF’s Korea Desk has been in regular communication with members of the Ukrainian special forces operating in the Kursk Oblast region since December 20. We...
Exclusive: Documents found on the body of a North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast region (2)
HRF’s Korea Desk has been in regular communication with members of the Ukrainian special forces operating in the Kursk Oblast region since December 20. We...
HRF hosts inaugural NK Insider Forum in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul, Korea — On Dec. 19, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) hosted the inaugural NK Insider Forum, a unique conference addressing critical issues related to North Korean human rights. The theme of this year’s forum, “Cracks in the Regime: The Exodus of North Korea’s Elite and Global Responses,” highlighted the defection of North Korea’s elite and the international community’s role in responding to the ongoing crisis.
One party vs. multiple parties
The most cited difference between countries that are socialist or capitalist is the extent to which individual citizens are able to own the means of...
North Korea’s Internal War Against South Korean Culture and Market Ideas May Be Unwinnable
As the generation of North Koreans who grew up familiar with the jangmadang market system enters adulthood, the state is cracking down harshly to prevent their “impure” attitudes and tastes – which include a preference for South Korean music and movies – from going mainstream.
Dismantled communications network makes life worse for North Korean dissidents
The Korean Peninsula is witnessing a potential renewal of hostilities due to an even more emboldened North Korea post its involvement in Russia and with...
Can a female leader emerge in patriarchal North Korea?
Kim Jong-un has been repeatedly exposing his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to public events, fueling discourse around leadership succession. Her appearances go beyond simply showcasing the...
Sticking your head out between the bars, What is the explanation for the new Yalu River cruise?
North Korea has been running river cruises since April along the Yalu River that forms the border with China in a development that is so...
What will bring change to North Korea?
Once thought of as the most rigid of societies where change was not possible under the heavy grip of dictatorship and indoctrination, North Korea has...
North Korea under lockdown: My COVID experience (Part 6)
Everything started changing in North Korea in January 2020, when the border was suddenly closed. At first, we thought it would just be temporary, that...
Evolving North Korean rights abuses – state-sponsored human trafficking
Young North Korean men sent to fight Russia’s war in Ukraine are caught up in a new kind of modern-day slavery. They have no idea...
The end of free medical care: My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 5)
During the pandemic, we would often see soldiers on TV and in movies in protective suits handing out medicine and checking people’s temperatures during the pandemic.
Marathons, memes, and misunderstanding: The West’s flawed view of North Korea
On April 6, when Scottish YouTuber Lewis Buchan set off through the streets with thousands of other runners at the start of the annual Pyongyang...
My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 4)
Most people naturally assume that when you get sick, you can go to the hospital, get a prescription, receive treatment, maybe even get vaccinated. But in North Korea, none of that was taken for granted.
How pro-North Korean activists and their friends tried to suppress a human rights documentary
By Lawrence Peck When Leo McCarey, director and producer of “Going My Way,” starring Bing Crosby as a Catholic priest, was testifying before Congress and...
As young people embrace the finger heart, the regime is yet to respond
Korea’s finger heart, arm heart, and cheek heart gestures have recently gained wide global popularity. Now, reports suggest that even in North Korea, they have...
My COVID experience in North Korea (Part 3)
To explain how North Korea initially responded to COVID, I originally planned to talk about the healthcare system, but then I came across the story...
Food warehouse robbed on military base… Inside job suspected
A recent case of theft at a military warehouse has prompted investigators to suspect the military was itself involved. According to sources contacted in North...