Chinese communist party… Youth Work and Class Education under Kim Jong-un 20 Oct 2016 The following is my original intro to a piece I just published in Seoul after some substantial carving down. In other words, the intro was cut, but I think it still stands…
EU-East Asia relations… Questioning North Korea’s Narrative of the London Diplomat Defection 21 Aug 201621 Aug 2016 It took about three days for the North Korean state to put together the opening salvo to its official public response to the stunning defection of Thae Yong-ho from its…
North Korea… Full Comment on the Latest American Detention in Pyongyang 25 Jan 201625 Jan 2016 I was interviewed for a story in TIME magazine [full citation: Charlie Campbell, "The Detention of a U.S. Student in North Korea Underscores the Risks of Travelling There," TIME Asia,…
North Korea… Putting a Price Tag on North Korea’s October 10 Celebrations 17 Oct 201517 Oct 2015 I don't doubt there is an abundance of potential fury in North Korea's provinces, but it does seem odd that a single parade, fireworks display, and associated banquets and pageantry would eat…
Korean War… Occupying North Korea, Witnessing Massacre? Military Sources and the Question of US/UK Forces in Sinchon 19 Jul 201519 Jul 2015 The North Korean state claims that US troops arrived in Sinchon, Hwanghae province, on 17 October 1950 and promptly began butchering civilians, culminating in over 35,000 dead by the time…
Borderlands… Bubble at the Summit: Insecurities in Kim Jong-un Itineraries 23 Apr 2015 Is Kim Jong-un staggeringly confident, or do his behaviours and travel itineraries betray personal neuroses and structural fears? The short answer is that it depends on the issue under discussion. Let's…
history and memory… Does North Korea Have Two Rulers? Visions of the Female General 8 Jan 20158 Jan 2015 In a Reuters dispatch published today, James Pearson uses multiple perspectives to reflect on Kim Jong-un's 8 January birthday in North Korea. In the end, it appears that the ostensible 32nd…
Cultural Politics… Updates on Sino-North Korean Relations 22 Apr 201122 Apr 2011 Chinese TV reports that preparations are underway for North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong Eun to visit CCP leaders in Beijing in "late April or early May." Accordingly, a rather…
North Korea North Korean Propaganda Roundup 27 Feb 2010 Reading the Korea Central News Agency's dispatches (e.g., North Korean propaganda stories) makes for a good blast-off into larger works. Today, North Korea confirmed that it signed an agreement in…
Art… North Korean Propaganda in Munich 8 Sep 2009 The Suddeutscher Zeitung, Germany's largest (and finest) paper, has made available about ten propaganda posters from the DPRK:
Adam Cathcart 