Korea Update

Korean student-detainee faces Security Law investigation The New York University student repatriated from North Korea earlier this week is currently under investigation for violating South Korea's National Security Act, South Korean media have reported.Because Joo, 21, entered into North Korea without permission and made pro-North remarks during an interview in North Korea, he appears to have violated the law, which South Korea has had on the books since the late 1940s. Attorney Jang Kyung-wook, who has experienced numerous cases involving the NIS, including Yoo Woo-seong‘s, said Joo’s US links need to be taken into account. Visit NK News for more Memories of Pyongyang: Citizens and expats reminisce about N. Korea life What’s life like in one of the most closed-off societies on earth? In part five of a major new NK News expert interview series, we spoke with seven former and current residents of the capital – both ex-pats and defectors – to get a sense of everyday life in North Korea’s largest city. While most talk of a deeply conformist society, bound by rituals and obligations, many also talk of gaining real, and often surprising, insight into the daily lives of the people.  Visit NK News for more Lawmakers says drought threatens Kaesong inter-Korean complex A drought in North Korea may result in the Kaesong Industrial Complex being shut down, a South Korean lawmaker asserted on Wednesday. Sim Jae-kwon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy said that, according to data from the Ministry of Unification (MoU), there is a possibility that the operations of the complex being shut down due to North Korea’s water shortage. The South Korean Ministry of Unification (MoU) is carrying out a plan to secure 30,000 tons of water from Sachon River next to the complex. Visit NK News for more North Korea builds 1,800 homes in 30 days – KCNA North Korea says it built 1,800 homes in the space of 30 days in the flood hit Rason area, according to DPRK state media on Tuesday. South Korea’s YTN news station also said a further 2700 homes had also been repaired. A further 500 multi-story homes were also reportedly constructed in the Chonggyedong, Yuhyondong, Kwangokdong areas. The area was hit by severe floods which began on August 22. Figures from the DPRK Red Cross Society released in September said 89 people were killed in the flood, with a further 10 missing and 22,656 people affected. Visit NK News for more Jangmadang teaches North Koreans to break rules: Expert North Korea’s “Jangmadang generation” has learned more than just how to make money – they have learned to break rules, one expert said. This generation has engaged in its own economic activities, private business or entrepreneurship by making money for themselves from an early age in a marketized economy. The NK News podcast interviewed Sokeel Park, director of research and strategy for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) about the Jangmadang generation. Visit NK News for more N.Korean Chuseok: Like S.Korean Chuseok without the traffic, By Kim Yoo-sung This week's Ask A North Korean is all about the Chuseok holiday. While North Koreans - like most northeast Asians - celebrate the mid-Autumn festival, North Korea does not suffer from the huge traffic jams that plague its neighbours - purely because so few people have access to personal transport. Even going by public transport is difficult, as the cost is far higher than in the South. Chuseok can also be a particularly lonely time for defectors, who miss the festivities with their relatives still in the North. Visit NK News for more

Top Stories Today

Inside A Secret State: My Invite To North Korea (Sky News)
As a journalist, I have to be officially invited to travel to North Korea. Invitations are rare. It has taken me almost three years to receive one.

3D map of North Korea's secret 'nuclear' missile site (Daily Mail)
Experts have created a true-to-life 3D map of a North Korean base which is expected to launch ballistic missiles - which could be capable of carrying nuclear warheads - in the next few weeks.

DPRK woman locked up in "island-like" S.Korea (Shanghai Daily)
A woman in South Korea, having come from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) four years ago, has wanted back since she got here to her "fatherland."

All business ahead of Party festivities (Daily NK)
North Korea’s lower-ranking Party cadres and donju have been paying bribes to cadres in the higher ranks or putting together cultural performances to secure deals. 

North Korea plans for party time (Channel News Asia)
This Saturday, the reclusive, and diplomatically elusive North is set to put on its biggest show to date -- a goose-stepping, tank-rumbling, missile-bristling tribute to the Workers' Party.