Publications

This collection includes a wide array of North Korea-related materials produced by our Fellows, such as journal articles, books, interviews, and op-eds.

If you are a Fellow of the ECNK, please click here to submit a new publication announcement.

Responsibility for the accuracy, validity, and legality of the content provided rests solely with the person submitting it.

22.04.2025
 

[Article] The New North Korea: How Geopolitical Advantages and Growing Middle Class Prosperity Challenge the Next South Korean President

On 38 North, Prof. Rüdiger Frank explores the evolving dynamics of North Korea's geopolitical stance and internal developments, and how these pose...
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03.03.2025
 

[Opinion] Why a Trump-Putin Ukraine peace deal could be good news for North Korea

Trump’s readiness to sideline allies and make concessions to pursue a deal with Russia suggests he may do the same with North Korea
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24.02.2025
 

[Article] Kim Jong-un is launching a crackdown on North Korea’s drinking culture

David Hall reports on Kim Jong-un's recent crackdown on North Korea's drinking culture, highlighting the leader's public reprimand of officials for...
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06.02.2025
 

[Book] Hidden Heroes: Anthology of North Korean Fiction

Hidden Heroes is a collection of short stories from the 1980s to present that unveil the lives of ordinary North Koreans.
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31.01.2025
 

[Article] The January 2025 Session of the North Korean Parliament: An Unusual Oath and the Absence of a “Russia-Effect”

On 38 North, Prof. Rüdiger Frank discusses the main issues of North Korean Supreme People's Assembly's latest session.

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08.01.2025
 

[Book] Millennial North Korea: Forbidden Media and Living Creatively with Surveillance

Suk-Young Kim reveals how the rise of digital media is empowering a generation to challenge the cracks in the world’s most secretive regime.
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03.01.2025
 

[Book] Peace and Conflict in a Changing World

A new publication by Kim Dong Jin, David Mitchell, and Gillian Wylie on key issues in Peace Studies.
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31.12.2024
 

[Call for Papers] North Korean Review Spring 2025 Issue

The new paper submission deadline on December 31, 2024!
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24.12.2024
 

[Opinion] Seoul must stop using North Korea threat as an excuse to suppress democracy

Dr. Gabriela Bernal examines President Yoon's declaration of martial law in early December, highlighting its echoes of historical abuses to suppress...
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12.12.2024
 

[Op-ed] Seeing red: Yoon’s ‘pro-North Korea forces’ rhetoric evokes authoritarian past

Dan Gudgeon writes about the anti-communist logic behind the martial law declaration in South Korea to root out "anti-state forces."
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10.12.2024
 

[Publications] How peace narratives avoid or invoke ontological insecurity: South Korean language games about building peace with North Korea

Dr. Dan Gudgeon published a peer-reviewed journal article about peace narratives and ontological security.
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10.12.2024
 

[News Article] A Quaker Legacy of Working for Peace in Korea

The American Friends Service Committee looks back at the history of its Korea International Affairs Program.
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06.12.2024
 

[Article] The Coup of December 3, 2024, in South Korea: Background and Lessons for Democracy

An assessment by Prof. Rüdiger Frank.
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18.11.2024
 

[Book] North Korea’s Nuclear Cinema: Simulation and Neoliberal Politics in the Two Koreas

Elizabeth Shim published a new book based on a decade of journalism and research.
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14.11.2024
 

[Podcast] Disastrous Consequences of Sending North Korean Troops Onto Ukrainian Soil (German)

In an NDR podcast, Prof. Rüdiger Frank talks about the Russian-North Korean partnership that raises the stakes for global security.
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13.11.2024
 

[Podcast] North Korea and the Return of the Cold War (German)

In a podcast by 48forward, Prof. Rüdiger Frank discusses North Korea's growing alliance with Russia and China amid rising global tensions positions it...
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12.11.2024
 

[Journal Article] Old Wine in New Bottles? A Triple Nexus Approach to Linking Aid Cooperation to Peacebuilding on the Korean Peninsula

Dan Gudgeon and Kim Dong Jin published a peer-reviewed article about the concept of the Triple Nexus and linking it to the Korean Peninsula.
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08.11.2024
 

[Podcast] North Korea: The Secretive Dictatorship (German)

In a Podcast hosted by Deutschlandfunk, Prof. Rüdiger Frank and Prof. Bernd Stöver elaborate on the historical roots of North Korea, its unique...
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25.10.2024
 

[Interview] North Korea and the War in Ukraine

Prof. Rüdiger Frank discusses the potential political implications if North Korea sends troops to support Russia in the Ukraine conflict, including...
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18.10.2024
 

[Interview] Current Developments in North Korea

Prof. Rüdiger Frank speaks about current developments in North Korean in an extended interview with Deutsche Welle (DW).
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02.10.2024
 

[Book Review] Reading between the Lines: Public Discourse in North Korea in the 1950s

Prof. Rüdiger Frank reviews Andre Schmid's book on bottom-up influences in the North Korean society.

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03.03.2024
 

[Podcast] How a 'new Cold War' is making North Korea more risk-averse

Prof. Rüdiger Frank shares his views on North Korea's de-risking strategy and the implications of the recent turn in its inter-Korean policy.
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09.02.2024
 

[Article] North Korea has demolished its monument to reunification but it can’t fully erase the dream

North Korea erases a symbol, but postage stamps immortalize the dream. Explore the hidden narratives uncovered by David Hall.
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30.01.2024
 

[Article] Is North Korea Preparing to Start A War?

Dylan Motin critiques Carlin and Hecker's claim that North Korea is poised for war, highlighting logical and empirical flaws.
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15.01.2024
 

Dylan Motin explores state alignment with major powers, revealing rare bandwagoning choices in Asia and Europe.
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11.01.2024
 

[Article] North Korea’s New Unification Policy: Implications and Pitfalls

Professor Rüdiger Frank discusses the implications of Kim Jong Un's remarks on unification of late December 2023.

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24.12.2023
 

[Article] Politics of the North Korean Diaspora

Sheena Chestnut Greitens explores how the authoritarian nature of the DPRK regime influences diasporic politics.
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24.12.2023
 

[Commentary] North Korea’s De-risking Strategy and Its Implications

Rüdiger Frank delves into North Korea's recent embassy closures, attributing the moves to a strategy of de-risking amid global geopolitical shifts.

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24.12.2023
 

[Article] Public attitudes towards co-ethnic migrant integration: evidence from South Korea

Steven Denney and Christopher Green discover how attitudes shape North Korean migrant integration in South Korea.

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01.11.2023
 

[Article] Public Support for Migrant Entrepreneurship: The Case of North Koreans in the Republic of Korea

Steven Denney, Peter Ward, and Christopher Green explore support for North Korean migrant entrepreneurship in South Korea.
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01.11.2023
 

[Article] Why do democratic societies tolerate undemocratic laws? Sorting public support for the National Security Act in South Korea?

Steven Denney and Christopher Green examine the enduring presence of South Korea's National Security Act (NSA) using a new survey instrument.
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17.08.2023
 

[Article] Young North Korean defectors’ new media practices in response to stereotypes by South Korean society

Myung-Ah Son and You-Yeon Kim analyze how the content produced by North Korean defector Youtubers is tailored to appeal to native South Koreans.
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25.07.2023
 

[Article] Collective Memory and Everyday Politics in North Korea: A Qualitative Text Analysis of New Year Statements, 1946–2019

Junhyoung Lee delves into how North Korean rulers manipulate collective memory to legitimize power in a revealing analysis.
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24.07.2023
 

[Article] Why It Matters What Autocrats Say: Assessing Competing Theories of Propaganda

Based on state media analysis, Constantine Boussalis and co-authors reveal strategic communication shifts in state media after leadership transitions.
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01.06.2023
 

[Article] The North Korea Conundrum: Pyongyang’s Strategic Calculus and Future Trajectory

Rachel Minyoung Lee unpacks North Korean policy changes and their implications after the failed 2019 US-North Korea summit in Hanoi.
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28.05.2023
 

[Article] Authoritarian Audiences: Theory and Evidence for Subnational Propaganda Targeting in North Korea

Heather-Leigh Ba, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, and Yu Bin Kim elaborate North Korea's subnational strategic propaganda use for political survival.
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12.05.2023
 

[Opinion] How to Avoid a Bad Take on a Hard Target-Analyzing North Korea the Right Way

Three experts propose methods to analyze North Korean propaganda more effectively.
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09.05.2023
 

[Article] To Purge or Not to Purge? An Individual-Level Quantitative Analysis of Elite Purges in Dictatorships

Edward Goldring and Austin Matthews explain how dictators carefully manage their elites and use violence strategically to survive.
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08.05.2023
 

[Article] A brief encounter: North Korea in the Eurocurrency market, 1973-80

Seung Woo Kim explores North Korea's engagement in the City of London in the 1970s.

 
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06.05.2023
 

[Article] Strategies of Political Control under Kim Jong Un

What is Kim Jong Un's strategy for political control? Peter Ward and Benjamin Silberstein use two case studies to find out.
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05.05.2023
 

[Article] How Autocracies Disrupt Unsanctioned Information Flows

Steven Denney and Peter Ward explore the determinants of unsanctioned information flows in North Korea.
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