NK News is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

with reporters in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Reporting is based on information collected from in-country sources, recently returned western visitors to North Korea, stories filed by the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...

(KCNA), interviews with defectors, and reports published by

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and western governments. The site's founder and Managing Director is Chad O'Carroll, a former employee of the

German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the We ...

, who has written on North Korea and North Korea issues for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''.

Regular features

* ''Ask a North Korean'': a forum whereby readers can submit questions about daily life in North Korea which are answered by a panel of four defectors. The column covering

Jang Song-thaek Jang Song-thaek (January or February 1946 – 12 December 2013) was a leading figure in the government of North Korea. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung and his first wife Kim Jong-suk, and o ...

's execution received particular attention. * ''Expert Survey'': in which various Korean and Western experts on the politics, economics and history of North Korea provide answers to a questionnaire covering various aspects of North Korea's current situation and future prospects. * ''Defector Survey'': asking various North Korean defectors about daily life inside North Korea and their opinions on subjects such as tourism in North Korea, foreign aid and the things that defectors miss most after leaving. In 2015, NK News held a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

fundraising drive to pay to send an investigative journalist to the

China–North Korea border The China–North Korea border is the international border separating the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It runs for 1,352 km (840 mi) from the estuary of the Yalu River in th ...

. The reporter is expected to provide regular dispatches from the region over the coming months.

Subscription

NK News' sister platform, NK Pro, goes beyond the function of a news outlet and also provides subscription-based data analysis tools designed for use by experts and analysts in public and private sector research and analysis postings. These tools include the North Korea Leadership Tracker, the North Korea Ship Tracker, the North Korea Aviation Tracker, Leading Indicators, and

KCNA The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onl ...

Watch. KCNA Watch, however, has been criticized for providing incomplete archives of North Korean websites in comparison to those of the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

and

web caches A Web cache (or HTTP cache) is a system for optimizing the World Wide Web. It is implemented both client-side and server-side. The caching of multimedias and other files can result in less overall delay when browsing the Web. Parts of the syste ...

of various

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Media coverage

NK News gained international headlines in November 2012 for its "North Korean Leadership Tracker," which presents a graphic visualization of every event

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

and his son

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

have attended since 1994. The following year, NK News was credited with breaking news of a purported North Korean "strike plan" against U.S. targets, based on analysis of a photo published by North Korean media, and the site was subsequently named by

KTXL KTXL (channel 40) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on Fruitridge Road near the Oak Park district on the southe ...

news anchor Paul Robins as his "pick of the day." Other scoops include the identification of Kim Jong-un's US$7 million yacht and images proving the date of the 2014 Pyongyang apartment collapse. NK News stories have been cited by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', ''

Österreich Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ci ...

'', ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'', and others. Since 2014, NK News also operates a content syndication agreement with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', with various articles being published on ''The Guardian'' NK website.

Controversies

In early 2014, NK News was partially blocked by the government of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, ostensibly for violating the nation's National Security Law, a censorship regulation that prohibits some reports originating from North Korea. In November 2014, NK News published a series of accusations by the former

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

stringer

Nate Thayer Nate Thayer (born April 21, 1960) is an American freelance journalist, whose journalism has focused on international organized crime, narcotics trafficking, human rights, and areas of military conflict. He is notable for having interviewed Pol ...

, suggesting that the AP bureau in Pyongyang had signed secret agreements with the North Korean government that compromised its journalistic independence and integrity. AP denied the reports, and said that Thayer was merely a disgruntled former employee. NK News has been accused of being a front for the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

by members of the

Korean Friendship Association The Korean Friendship Association (KFA, es, Asociación de Amistad con Corea) is a Spain-based friendship association with North Korea. The KFA was established in November 2000. It claims to have official representatives in 34 countries. The KFA ...

, which is a Spain-based friendship association with North Korea.

Journalists

Japanese journalist

Kosuke Takahashi is a Japanese journalist. He contributes to IHS Jane's Defence, NK News and Toyo Keizai Online among other media by writing in both English and Japanese. He is also currently a regular TV commentator of Tokyo MX's Morning Cross program. He worke ...

is a contributor to the site. Alek Sigley, an Australian national who was a graduate student of Korean literature at

Kim Il-sung University Kim Il-sung University, founded on 1 October 1946, is the first university built in North Korea. It is located on a campus in Pyongyang, the nation's capital. Along with the main academic buildings, the campus contains 10 separate offices, 50 l ...

, contributed articles about daily life in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. In June 2019, Sigley was detained and deported after being accused of espionage. The following year, he would go on to deny these charges and claimed that his confession was coerced.

References

External links

* {{Media specialized on news and/or analysis about North Korea American news websites Internet properties established in 2011 Organizations specializing in North Korean issues North Korean studies