No one apart from the representatives of the North Korean and South Korean governments who took part in the marathon talks over the weekend of August 22 can know exactly what took place. But there is some inevitable spin regarding who came away the “winner.”
With the announcement of a deal shortly after midnight on August 25 the most recent inter-Korean crisis averted a military conflict on the Korean peninsula…With the crisis now coming to a close, what can we learn from the crises that Kim Jong-un has precipitated and the deals he’s made?
The broadcasts avoid criticizing the North Korean government directly – instead, the key point has been “subtlety.” So, hidden among news reports and information about Kim Jong Un’s health conditions, the broadcasts contained some unusual content – pop music.
After the first meeting between North and South in 1972, the North Korean delegation already noted a marked change in the Korean language that both sides spoke, changes that have made a marked difference in each dialect that goes beyond regional differences.
With the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II over the weekend, KEI takes a look back at what has changed on the Korean Peninsula from the 1945 to today.
In the pantheon of executions, one would not expect to see a niche devoted to disagreements over forestry policy, which makes the news that Vice Premier Choe Yong-gon was executed for a disagreement over reforesting North Korea and poor job performance such a perplexing development.
Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum have used North Korea and Iran interchangeably to buttress their position on the negotiations to corral Iran’s nuclear weapons ambition.
Short conversations about North Korea generally end with similar conclusions, while longer conversations reveal fault lines among experts.
Two separate but related events this week highlight that there is something new going on regarding North Korea, specifically regarding the North Korean human rights situation.
For Korea watchers, the Global Peace Index provides specific statistical informal for each of the 162 countries it surveys, including North Korea and South Korea.