Nouveau riche in Pyongyang For readers of Western media, the usual image of North Korea is that of a starving Stalinist state, a place where the people, clad in rags, march through colourless streets completely devoid of traffic.
Bosses and bourgeoisie North Korea has got its bourgeoisie - and in North Korean terms it is relatively large in number and powerful. The North Korean rich class was born amid the devastation of the 1990s, when dead bodies could be seen alongside countryside roads and wh..
Why did they close Gaeseong? In early April, the North Korean government did something it had not dared to do before: it recalled all North Korean workers from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex - by far the largest inter-Korean economic project.
No longer a Stalinist state Even though North Korea is often described as a "Stalinist" nation, this label has long become anachronistic. The last 15 years have seen the dramatic rise of the market economy in the North.
Media-spawned scare Pyongyang once again has the worlds attention and the North Korean leaders are clearly enjoying their recent experience. If we need any more proof that the North is remarkably adept at manipulating the world media, we could not find better than t..
Behind N. Korea's rhetoric Over the last month, the world media has again begun to write about growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Some have gone even so far as to hint that a new Korean War could be on the way. When Pyongyang promises to make Seoul a sea of fire..
On Sino-Korean border I spent the last two weeks of February in China, travelling along the Sino-North Korean border. I have not been to the area for four years, and of course, it has changed quite a bit - and it seems that the most significant of all changes have occur..
Marriage in N. Korea People marry most do, anyway. The institution of marriage has gone through numerous transformations, but overall it has been one of the most stable features of human society.
Ritual sanctions It would be an exaggeration to say that North Koreas third nuclear test came out of the blue. It is well known that nuclear tests go well with missile launches in Pyongyangs milieu. After the successful (the first successful) test of a long-ran..
Where have all dissenters gone? It was just another research interview of the type I have experienced more or less every week for years.
Tech fetishism in N. Korea A few weeks ago, I witnessed a discussion between a prominent historian and a young leftist with moderate pro-North Korean sympathies.
Sad truth about N. Korean missiles The political dust, which was created by North Koreas successful rocket launch is beginning to settle. Predictably, there has been the usual amount of tough talk from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as well as the somewhat half-hearted and muted cond..
A bumpy road ahead for Park The presidential elections ended with the narrow victory of Park Geun-hye, leader of South Koreas moderate right.
Disappearance of generals The picture is still probably fresh in our readers memory: Pyongyang, December 2011. A large black hearse with the coffin of the recently departed Marshall Kim Jong-il slowly moves through the streets of the North Korean capital. Eight people are..
Back to personality cult Talk of coming change in North Korea, so loud and audible as recently as August and September, has all but disappeared in the past two months.
Different world of jobs in NK Westerners or, for that matter, South Koreans are always impressed when they are told that somebody in North Korea is a medical doctor.
Slow-down of reforms A couple of months ago, many a North Korea watcher, including my humble self, suddenly found themselves in an exciting situation as strange things began to happen in Pyongyang.
