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Opinion

Columnists

Wed, January 27, 2021 | 01:01

Andrei Lankov

20 years after Kim Il-sung's death

Twenty years have passed since the death of the “Sun of the Nation,” the ever victorious iron-willed brilliant commander, the Great Leader and Generalissimo Kim Il-sung - and this is merely some of the titles that this fat man with round glasses possessed. He remained the supreme leader of North Korea for almost half a century: he began to emerge as the chief executive of the nascent state in 1946 and died 49 years later.

2014-07-13 17:08

'I hate officials, but ...'

A long time ago back in the mid-1980s, I had an unusually frank talk with a North Korean. He said, "I hate our officials, but I want to become an official because they are the only people who live well here". Almost three decades have passed since I had this conversation with my North Korean peer. Nevertheless, it appears that this attitude remains largely unchanged. Officials might be the object of suspicion and envy, but their careers still remain by far the most attractive path for socially ambitious North Korean youngsters.

2014-06-29 17:02

A tale of two agencies

In northern Seoul, not far away from the picturesque peaks of Mt. Bukhan, there is a medium-sized government office. Every weekday morning, all five stories of this office are buzzing with activity. There are large cars parked outside, and inside one will find dozens of smartly dressed young bureaucrats rushing back and forth with files in hand. There is a small army of young secretaries, tirelessly typing, mailing and making coffee.

2014-06-15 17:11

Bomb in Ryongchon?

This spring marks the 10th anniversary of the Ryongchon disaster - the largest and perhaps the most mysterious disaster in the entire North Korean history.

2014-06-01 17:13

Racial diatribes of N. Ko

By Andrei Lankov White House Press Secretary Jay Carney recently expressed his outrage at some personal remarks aimed by the North Korean media at President Barack Obama.The North Korean media is not known for the temperance and politeness with which it critiques foreign leaders. Politicians who are currently out of favor in Pyongyang are routinely pilloried as “bastards,” “treacherous rogues,” “spineless lackeys” and the like.At any rate, all such epithets are de rigor for not only North Korea’s opinion pieces, but even its regular news coverag...

2014-05-18 17:19

No need to worry for Pyongyang

By Andrei Lankov So, North Korea has been warned: it will pay an “unimaginable price” if it dares to conduct a fourth nuclear test, as Yun Byung-se, South Korea’s foreign minister said recently.Minister Yun seems to be in good company while making such dire warnings. North Korea hinting that a new nuclear test is expected to take place soon, and the outside world reacts to these indications in a very predictable manner. In recent weeks, North Korean ambassadors in a number of countries, including Germany, the U.K., and perhaps even China, were summoned by the governmen...

2014-04-20 17:18

Refugees: A change of heart

By Andrei LankovThe Ministry of Unification has published its statistics on the number of North Koreans who defected to the South in 2013.According to the statistics, there were 1,516 new arrivals ― almost the same number as 2012. These statistics confirm what has been suspected for the last few years: the North Korean government has been quite successful in its ongoing attempts to curtail defections. The number of new arrivals has nearly halved compared to 2007-10 level.In the media it is easy to find stories about refugees being shot after being forcibly returned to North Korea from China ...

2014-04-06 17:07

Story of Ms. Park

Today, dear readers, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Park, a person whom I met recently and who appears to be a very typical North Korean refugee in the South. Park was born in the late 1940s, so she is a bit older than the average refugee, but in all other regards she is highly representative of refugee demographics.

2014-03-23 17:10

The young man in charge

Over the last two years or so, one of the major topics that Pyongyangologists have loved to speculate about is the extent to which Kim Jong-un is in charge in North Korea.

2014-03-09 17:13

Ration us this day our daily rice

It seems to be common knowledge that North Korea is a country of comprehensive rationing. All food and many consumer goods are not supposed to be freely sold, but rather distributed by the state, even though since the 1990s this system has largely collapsed.

2014-02-23 17:09

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