Konstantin Asmolov

January 2022 has been rather busy in terms of missile launches by the DPRK, and following the meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held on January 20, the month became even more eventful after they had hinted at the possible discontinuation of the unilateral moratorium. On January…

With just a month or so until the presidential elections in South Korea, this bulletin in our series of “dispatches from the front” focuses on Lee Jae-myung, the candidate from the ruling Democratic Party. The partnership with Lee Nak-yon, and the changing of the guard at the electoral committee In order to avoid being associated…

When talking about the reasons for the end of the North Korean moratorium, global media and most pundits have disregarded one factor that could have played a key role in the DPRK leadership’s decision. On January 14, 2022, NK News reported about North Korea’s disappearance from the Internet that lasted several hours…

After a year and a half of interruption, North Korea has reopened rail connections with China. Since the end of January 2020, the DPRK has halted cross-boarder railway services. Even though on June 26, 2020 one freight train passed from Hunchun (a border city in China’s Jilin province) to Tumangang station on the North Korea…

The previous publication on the North Korean missile launches ended on the description of the events that took place on January 14, 2022. The missiles were fired after the North warned of a “stronger reaction” in response to newly imposed US sanctions on six North Korean citizens involved in weapons of mass destruction programs as well as one Russian national…

As the reader may recall, on January 5, 2022, the DPRK National Defense Academy conducted a test launch of a hypersonic missile, which “reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile in the active-flight stage and assessed the performance of the new lateral movement technique applied to the detached hypersonic gliding warhead…

In early January, several media outlets ran a clickbait headline, “North Korea Claims Kim Jong-il Invented Shawarma.” This fast-food dish is popular in post-Soviet countries. The statement about its North Korean roots immediately broke into negative comments about how North Korea is duping the people and making them…

According to South Korean media reports of January 6, the Chinese Hunan TV and Mango TV streaming platforms began airing a South Korean drama Saimdang, Memoir of Colors, on January 4, 2022. The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) approved the series six years ago. On the other hand, Beijing was displeased with South Korea…

One of the most common tactics in Korean politics since the Middle Ages has been to smear a family member. It is understood that political leaders cannot control their relatives and fail to be aware of their bad transgressions. This means that they could be done with his knowledge, or at least cast a shadow on his reputation as a worthy…

20th December 2021. The National Intelligence Service of the Republic of Korea has warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks by extremist groups in all parts of the world, including the Republic of Korea, before the approaching Christmas and New Year holiday season. The warning forms part of a report sent to 26 state institutions and 62…

On the pages of our online magazine, we have repeatedly written about The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), formed in South Korea under Moon Jae-in as an alternative to the Prosecutor’s Office. It was established as an independent agency directly subordinate to the president and responsible for investigating crimes from VIPs to the country’s leader…

On December 13, 2021, during a visit to Australia, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the United States, China, and North Korea agreed in principle to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. According to Moon, such a statement would help revive the stalled talks between South and North Korea, as well…