Story Archive
2017-03-03
Much of the secretive nation's early history has been airbrushed to serve the regime's current propaganda and control needs.
2017-01-09
The reluctance of Kim Jong Un's nervous regime to acknowledge it is adopting a market economy frustrates the legal changes needed to sustain nascent growth.
2016-11-15
Candidate Trump's isolationism might be welcome to Pyongyang, but no Republican administration will overlook North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
2016-10-21
A veteran North Korea watcher says that changes introduced three year ago are moving the country toward self-sufficiency in food.
2016-09-20
Beyond nuclear sabre-rattling, North Korea spooks investors with its attitudes toward profit repatriation and managerial flexibility.
2016-09-02
Kim Jong Un's government understands that markets are politically dangerous, but can do little about them.
2016-07-19
Veteran North Korea watcher suggests democracy is a bridge too far and China's path might appeal to Pyongyang rulers.
2016-06-20
Roads, power, and phone lines take second place to heavy industry and weapons programs in North Korea, a noted expert says.
2016-05-17
Lack of interest in economy, condemnation of Chinese reforms, are troubling omens for the country's future.
2016-04-18
Younger South Koreans do not see unification with destitute North as the only future outcome.
2016-01-27
North Korean diplomats spent much of 2015 cultivating foreign relations, only to see this work made void by the Jan. 6 nuclear blast.
2016-01-04
Abrupt walkout by Moranbong Band underscores to Chinese the mercurial nature of North Korea.
2015-11-30
Secretive state that once sold narcotics for hard currency sees domestic drug use spiral but can't admit the problem.
2015-10-28
While old-style rhetoric continues, Pyongyang in practice plays up comparative advantages in cheap labor and coal.
2015-09-11
Even the modest political relaxation of reform-era China appears unlikely to occur in North Korea.
2015-08-11
Confidence about North Korea's economy appears to breed indifference about drawing aid and support from abroad.
2015-07-08
Farmers better prepared to meet food needs than during 1990s famine, while neighbors ready to aid Pyongyang.
2015-06-01
Reports emanating from North Korea indicate an expected economic transformation has at best been postponed, at worst, cancelled entirely
2015-04-15
North Korea, with little to sell to the world, is unlikely to follow Iran's path out of isolation.
2015-03-04
Farmers' response to rules allowing them to keep more of harvest could spur output growth seen in late-1970s China.
2015-01-21
Pyongyang needs cash and Seoul wants to reassure South Koreans that ties are stable, a North Korea expert says.
2014-12-09
Improving relations will be based only on reciprocity and mutual benefit, a North Korea expert says.
2014-10-31
But stricter social controls may not be enough to keep the country's people in line, a North Korea expert says.
2014-10-07
Foreign languages and computer skills will become highly valued in the future.
2014-09-09
Businesspeople are making money running restaurants, stores, mining operations and trucking companies.
2014-08-04
It is difficult for the average North Korean even if they have money, says a North Korea expert.
2014-07-01
A North Korea expert says it is too early to tell what will happen, but signs are positive.
2014-03-25
It is an open secret that the Supreme People's Assembly is the least influential legislative body in the world.
2014-03-04
North Koreans have been raised to fear offending their leaders, a North Korea expert says.
2014-02-24
Despite frustrations over Pyongyang's behavior, China wants the regime to survive, a North Korea expert says.
