North Korea’s new skyscraper street, rejecting drone claims and defector numbers | NK News
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North Korea’s new skyscraper street, rejecting drone claims and defector numbers

NK News’ Joon Ha Park discusses Kim Jong Un at a ribbon cutting and the UN aviation body’s decision on DPRK complaint
Jacco Zwetsloot | Joon Ha Park | NK News April 22, 2025
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North Korea’s new skyscraper street, rejecting drone claims and defector numbers
Image: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week for another new 10,000-home skyscraper street in Pyongyang, coinciding with the April 15 “Day of the Sun” holiday celebrating the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung.

NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to discuss the significance of the project, as well as the U.N.’s aviation body’s dismissal of a North Korean complaint about an alleged South Korean drone intrusion last year. He also talks about the number of North Korean refugees that arrived in South Korea in the first quarter of 2025.

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About the Authors

Jacco Zwetsloot

Jacco Zwetsloot

Jacco Zwetsloot has been the host of the NK News Podcast since episode 1 in February 2018. He has interviewed a wide range of guests about their knowledge of and experience in North Korea, from celebrity defectors to high-ranking U.S. government officials. His goal is to help as wide a cross-section of North Korea-related stories as possible be told, in order to build up a fuller picture. Jacco has a Master of Arts from Leiden University, for which he wrote a thesis on North Korean graphic novels.

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Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

View more articles by Joon Ha ParkEMAILTwitterGot a news tip?Let us know!
NK News

NK News

NK News is a North Korea specialist news and information resource head-quartered in Delaware, U.S.A.

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