Kim Jong-un… ‘Day of Songun’ and the Ongoing Succession Process in North Korea 25 Aug 2015 It is a coincidence, but an interesting one, that North Korean representatives concluded their negotiations with South Korea just in time for August 25, the 'Day of Songun' in the…
North Korea… Kim Jong-un: purges, paranoia, plots and the cancelled trip to Moscow 1 May 2015 After months of public relations flirtation that led the world to believe that Kim Jong-un would be taking his first foreign trip as head of state to Moscow this month,…
North Korea… It Takes a Nation of Slogans 13 Feb 201513 Feb 2015 North Korea may be economically poor but it is surely rich with slogans. Some three hundred were recently published in the country. Private advertising is still very much circumscribed, and…
history and memory… Succession Politics and Commemorative Culture in North Korea: Seminar Paper at SOAS 5 Nov 2014 On 14 November, I will be delivering the following paper at the SOAS Centre for Korean Studies as part of their seminar series. Succession Politics and Commemorative Culture in North…
North Korea… Kim Jong Il Dies in His Train: Updates 18 Dec 201119 Dec 2011 About an hour ago at noon Pyongyang time, Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong Il had died yesterday morning in his train "from overwork." A Chinese reporter, Zhao…
Cultural Politics… Lux Sinica: China’s Civilizing Influence in North Korea 17 Jun 201117 Jun 2011 It takes more than a few days, or perhaps a few weeks, to sift through all the reports, speculation, and rumors surrounding Kim Jong Il’s “new deal” with China. At…
Beijing… North Korean Television Coverage of Kim Jong Il in China 12 Jun 2011 Wow. Thanks to Curtis Melvin at North Korean Economy Watch for unearthing this.
American Foreign Policy… Kim Jong Il in China: 28 Things You May Have Missed 22 May 201122 May 2011 Cross-Border Economic Development 1. Indeed, the Rodong Sinmun [劳动新闻/Worker's Daily], North Korea's key ideological mouthpiece, has said nothing of Kim Jong Il's since his junket to a Hamgyong fruityard. But…
Chinese communist party… Kim Jong Il in China: PRC Media Tropes 20 May 201120 May 2011 If there's one thing we know about North Korea, it is that the DPRK is intensely mindful of how it is portrayed in foreign media. Scrutinizing its own international image…
American Foreign Policy… The News from North Korea: Relations with China, Aerial Drone Denunciations, Green Totalitarianism, and the Middle East 19 May 2011 Since the emergence of putative successor Kim Jong Eun into the public eye, the North Korean news media -- specifically the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA -- has taken…