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Thu, October 19, 2017 | 12:53

Opinion > Columnists > Andrei Lankov >

No more sympathies

On Feb.10, President Park Geun-hye declared that the Gaeseong Industrial Complex would be closed. This declaration effectively means that all inter-Korean cooperation has ended, at least for the time being.

Andrei Lankov | 2016-03-06 17:24

Do they believe this?

One question foreigners tend to ask when they read is: “Do they really believe this stuff?” Indeed, many of the often-seen claims in North Korean propaganda look comically implausible or grossly distorted. Thus, one cannot help but wonder whether the North Korean public really takes all of this nonsense seriously. There is no clear-cut answer to the question. Some parts of the official propaganda are embraced by nearly all North Koreans, while other elements are looked upon with a great degree of skepticism. At any rate, we must not oversimplify things and conclude that North Koreans are eit...

Andrei Lankov | 2016-02-21 17:19

The lie? Yes, but a useful one

North Korea has a reputation for being a strange, unpredictable and irrational place. To some extent, this reputation is well deserved, but sometimes seemingly irrational North Korean actions actually have clear and logical roots - when seen in the correct light, that being the perspective of the decision-makers themselves.

Andrei Lankov | 2016-01-29 16:43

Importance of education

When it comes to North Korean education one should admit one important fact: for such a poor country, North Korea has a remarkably well educated populace. North Koreans claim that decades ago, they reached 100 percent literacy, and this is actually very close to the truth.

Andrei Lankov | 2016-01-24 17:07

The old cycle again...

So, North Korea had another nuclear test on Jan. 6, and the world media is in a state of its usual frenzy. There are talks about provocations, irrational bellicosity and the like, as well as hints at the coming retribution. However, one should be skeptical about these hints and this frenzy in general. Experience tells us that one should not expect anything new. The U.N. Security Council is likely to have another emergency meeting, and rest assured, there will be another resolution condemning North Korean actions, and there will be some additional sanctions. There will also be talk of diploma...

Andrei Lankov | 2016-01-10 17:11

Foreign investment in NK

In late November, a large Egyptian telecom and construction company published a quarterly report. Orascom, the company in question, admitted in this document that “in the group’s management view, the control over the Koryolink's activities was lost.” Koryolink is the Orascom venture in North Korea, and this short statement is clearly a sign that the investment project in this small East Asian country had gone seriously wrong.

Andrei Lankov | 2015-12-27 17:08

Crying wolf again?

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently surprised the world (well, the part of the world which cares to take notice) by openly claiming that his country is capable of producing not only nuclear but also thermonuclear weapons.

Andrei Lankov | 2015-12-13 16:44

See no good, hear no good ...

The world's media is a strange universe in which the supposedly biggest news stories are forgotten after a few months, and many statements are proven wrong by subsequent events - but who cares? Reporting on North Korea gives us many examples of how peculiar a media picture of the world can become. More or less every year (well, every second year) the world’s newspapers in spring or early summer predict gloom and doom in North Korea - usually anticipating that something akin to the disastrous famine of the 1990s might occur again. By autumn, nothing happens, but by that time the earlier gloom...

Andrei Lankov | 2015-11-29 16:59

Some people are more equal

Few analysts would deny that Kim Jong-un's rule has been marked by continued economic growth. The exact growth rate is uncertain, but it is clear that North Korea, while still very poor, is becoming less and less economically impoverished and desperate.

Andrei Lankov | 2015-11-15 15:17

On Oct. 10, the North Korean capital witnessed the largest military parade in its history. It was held to celebrate the putative 70th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Worker’s Party. The presence of a large Chinese delegation headed by Liu Yunshan was perhaps the most significant group visiting from overseas. Liu is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, the highest official from China to visit North Korea since Kim Jong-un became leader in Pyongyang.

Andrei Lankov | 2015-11-01 17:03

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Lunch with Navy sailors