About the author
More articles by 'Andrei Lankov'
How a North Korean businessman’s high-rise dreams came crashing down
A defector’s memoir illuminates how private entrepreneurs, relying on bribery, drove a construction boom in Pyongyang
What’s in it for the working man? Why North Koreans show up for low-wage jobs
State-assigned jobs rarely pay a livable salary, but there are other benefits for reporting to one’s workplace
A North Korean assassination gone wrong and its continuing ripple effects
The attempt to take out former ROK leader Park Chung-hee killed his wife instead and drove his daughter into politics
Why North Korea won’t act on its threat to launch long-range missiles — yet
Pyongyang hopes to pressure the US to make concessions, but without angering its ally China
North Korea wants women to bear children for the motherland. They aren’t.
The DPRK’s fertility rate is sliding down and its population aging despite the state’s pro-natalist policies
Don’t believe the hype: An end-of-war declaration won’t change a thing
Multiple inter-Korean agreements since the 1990s have promised breakthroughs but failed to deliver
Enhanced border controls hurtle North Korea into a new information dark age
The COVID crisis has helped authorities justify harsher measures that will likely persist even after the pandemic ends
In Biden’s Washington, North Korea barely moves the needle
Strategic patience dominates the minds of the decision-makers, and this is not going to change any time soon
Yoon Seok-youl’s rise doesn’t bode well for inter-Korean relations
Conservative candidate will likely take harder line on North Korea if elected, risking confrontation and freeze in ties
The secret to success in North Korea? Workers’ Party membership
Joining the ruling WPK in North Korea is the surest, and in many cases only, path towards social mobility
