From K-Pop supergroup BTS to Oscar-winner Parasite to Netflix global sensation Squid Game, South Korea seems to be churning out one massive cultural hit after another. And North Korea is taking notice. In this episode of the GZERO World podcast, a tale of two very different Koreas. Jean Lee, former AP Pyongyang bureau chief and veteran Korea correspondent, speaks with Ian Bremmer.
Read MoreGZERO World: South Korea's Moment →
First it was Parasite at the Oscars. Then BTS dazzling young people worldwide. Now everyone's glued to Squid Game. What will South Korea come up with next? For veteran Korea correspondent Jean Lee, the country is definitely punching above its (geographical) weight on soft power.
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VoA: 집권 10년 '김정은주의' 등장...미 전문가들 "홀로서기" "경제난 속 우상화 강화" →
“When he first emerged, nobody knew who he was and so he had to lean so much on his grandfather and his father’s legacy. And the first song that came out was ‘Footsteps’. That was an ode to Kim Jong Un that showed you may not know this young man but he’s going to follow in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather. So now 10 years later the message is he can stand on his own.”
Read MoreNew York magazine: The Best Podcasts of 2021 (So Far) →
Led by Jean Lee, a Pulitzer-nominated foreign correspondent who has operated out of North Korea, and Geoff White, a veteran freelance investigative journalist who specializes in cybercrime, The Lazarus Heist offers one of the more pressing and interesting geopolitical stories to blend the unsettling and the absurd, all presented in exquisitely competent fashion.
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NPR's Morning Edition: North Korea's Kim Jong Un promises to build an 'invincible military' →
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Jean Lee, senior fellow at the Wilson Center, about what North Korea is trying to achieve through weapons tests, and proclamations of building an invincible military.
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Columbia College Today: A Journalist’s Unmatched Access →
“Who would I have been? How would I have survived?” These questions swirled in Lee’s mind as she traveled around North Korea for the AP, witnessing the poverty and malnutrition in one of the world’s poorest countries. Eager to help her local sources but mindful of U.S. sanctions, Lee limited gifts to baby items, like newborn clothes and soap, which she knew the recipients would not sell on the black market.
Read MoreNPR: North Korean Missile Was A 'Cleverly Calculated Test'
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the Wilson Center's Jean Lee about North Korea's testing of cruise missiles and about at how the country is handling COVID-19.
Read MoreCNN The Situation Room: Kim Jong un boasts a svelte new look →
Kim Jong Un presides over a midnight parade featuring emergency medical troops instead of missiles, sporting a western suit and a slim new look.
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Voice of America: 미 전문가 "김정은, 열병식에서 '건강한 이미지' 연출...김일성 모습도 연상" →
Jean Lee on Kim Jong Un’s appearance at a midnight parade on Foundation Day: “He’s trying to evoke a different era and trying to lean on the goodwill and the affection that the people have for his grandfather to remind them ‘We’ve been through this before, my grandfather led you through this, I will lead you through this as well. And I’m the direct inheritor of my grandfather’s legacy.’”
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Al Jazeera's The Stream: Why is North Korea resuming its nuclear programme? →
North Korea appears to have restarted a nuclear reactor believed to have previously produced plutonium for weapons, according to a report from the UN atomic agency. In this episode of The Stream, we discuss the implications of Pyongyang expanding its nuclear program and its potential impact on the Korean peninsula and beyond.
Read MoreWall Street Journal: North Korea’s Apparent Plutonium Moves Boost Nuclear Program, Invite U.S. Attention →
It is a bet that more firepower will give it more leverage in eventual talks centered on trading the stockpile away, said Jean H. Lee, a senior fellow at the Korea program at the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.
Read MoreBBC Newshour: Why are South Korean bands and slang now banned in North Korea? →
North Korea is clamping down on South Korea's cultural influence in the country. State media in Pyongyang are urging young people in the North to stop using South Korean slang, listening to South Korean bands and adopting southern hair and fashion styles.
Read MoreVoice of America's Washington Talk on North Korea's economic hardships →
Jean Lee joins Anthony Ruggiero and host Liz Kim on Voice of America’s Washington Talk weekly TV show to discuss North Korea’s recent report to the United Nations on its food shortages and sustainability goals.
Read MoreVoA Korean Service: “북한 장마당 기능 마비"..."인도주의 위기 상황 대비해야" →
“North Korea never likes to admit that they need the help because they’ve painted this picture that they can do everything on their own. So in order to set the stage for future engagement or acceptance of aid, in some ways they have to transition into acknowledging or painting a picture of why they might take this step.”
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Japan Times: As North Korea and U.S. vie for leverage, nuclear talks likely a long way off
“The North Koreans like to play hard to get,” said Jean Lee, a North Korea expert at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. “They’re making it clear they won’t be easily wooed, and that it will take more commitment — or concessions — from Washington before they return to negotiations.
“It’s a diplomatic dance, and these are the first steps,” Lee added.
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The Lazarus Heist, a major new original podcast from the BBC World Service →
“Almost a perfect crime.” The hacking ring and an attempt to steal a billion dollars. Investigators blame North Korea. Pyongyang denies involvement. The story begins in Hollywood.
Read MoreNPR WBUR: Biden Doesn't Plan To Meet With Kim Jong Un, White House Says. What's Next For North Korea? →
Here & Now's Jane Clayson speaks with Jean Lee, director of the Korea Center at the Wilson Center.
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National Geographic's North Korea: Inside the Mind of a Dictator →
Exclusive interviews and intimate archival information give a look at Kim Jong Un's life and reign.
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BBC World Service: How dangerous is North Korea?
As the country marks the 75th anniversary of the Workers' Party, is there any hope for engagement with the rest of the world - or are we seeing a return to past behaviour?
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CJR: Medical Mystery →
North Korea—where there have been no reported covid diagnoses, but lots of speculation about the leader’s health—is a particularly difficult story to cover.
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