North Korea Leadership Watch

Bozz Visit Preview of Coming Attractions

Kathleen Stephens, US Ambassador to ROK, told an ROK forum that US Special Envoy Stephen Bosworth will seek the DPRK’s return to the Six Party Talks and for the North Koreans to reaffirm the September […]

Dec, 04

Money, it's a Gas

Daily NK reports that the currency change under way in the DPRK was announced at 14:00 by the radio broadcasts directly piped into the homes of North Korean citizens. Street markets have remained shuttered since […]

Dec, 03

Morningstar Rumors

Chosun Ilbo adds another story to the “Is he or isn’t he?” scuttlebutt machine around the possible hereditary succession of Kim Jong-un. This story contradicts a report from JoongAng Daily that stated the mysterious Kim […]

Dec, 02

Kill that Flu, and Feed that Swine

Kim Jong-il is on the hunt for swine flu and other livestock-based diseases that find a way to pass from animals to humans. A Yonhap report noted that on his recent visit to a Pyongyang […]

Dec, 01

MPS on Alert after DPRK Changes Currency

Daily NK reports that the DPRK “has revalued and replaced its national currency.” Northeast Asia Matters carries the complete English variant of the article, as well as the Korean version of the article. Northeast Asia […]

Nov, 30

Did the Morningstar General visit Wonsan Aggie in April?

AFP channels a report from the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun which obtained a PAD document that relates Kim Jong-un joined his dad when General-Secretary Kim conducted a guidance tour of the Wonsan University of Agriculture […]

Nov, 29

Bozz' Friendly Skies

Citing an RFA report, KBS reports that US Special Envoy Stephen Bosworth will travel in true style to the DPRK in early December. Ambassador Bosworth, Sung Kim and their State Department minders will fly in […]

Nov, 28

LMB's Indecision, KJI in the Navy and Is HRC Pyongyang-bound?

Without sounding like the braying editorial board of Rodong Sinmun, is ROK President Lee Myung-bak playing with a full deck? Is President Lee a few french fries short of a Happy Meal? After brushing aside […]

Nov, 27

The Guidance Train Over the River and Through the Woods

(n.b. Kim Jong-il’s last known appearance was around 9 November when he attended a concert given by a music troupe of the Ministry of Public Security) Kim Jong-il laid low following the naval skirmish on […]