What Kim Jong Un’s appearances can tell us about the DPRK regime – Ep. 330

North Korea News Podcast

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korea’s leader, raised the possibility of engagement between Pyongyang and Tokyo last week but caveated that this is her “personal” view. NK News Lead Correspondent Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) dissects Kim Yo Jong’s statement, as well as a proposal from South Korea’s unification ministry to take DNA samples from suspected North Koreans who wash up dead on ROK shores to identify them in the future. Then, researcher and NK Pro contributor Martin Weiser sits down in the studio to discuss North Korea’s new line on reunification, election reform in the DPRK and what state media’s portrayal of Kim Jong Un’s daughter could mean for her future. He also talks about the difficult process of tracking the North Korean leadership and how changes in officials’ ranks can provide clues about how the regime works. Martin Weiser (@NKResearcher) received his master's degree from Korea University in 2014 with a thesis on North Korea’s changing human rights policy. He has since continued researching DPRK political history, and his writing has appeared in SinoNK, the European Journal of Korean Studies and NK Pro. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.