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About NK News — Est. 2010

Independent.
Subscription-funded.
No agenda but
the truth about North Korea.

NK News was founded on the premise that reliable reporting on the world's most closed country requires genuine independence — from governments, from donors, and from advertisers. Over a decade later, that independence is what makes us trusted by the people who need to know most.

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Ever since it began, NK News has been part of my essential daily reading on North Korea. It has become a primary source of information for the North Korea watching community.

John Everard

John Everard

Former UK Ambassador to the DPRK

Lankov and Foster-Carter are hugely thoughtful and well-informed and always worth reading, as is Ask a North Korean.

David Hawk

David Hawk

North Korea researcher

NK News is the most comprehensive source of news and information on North Korea out there; indispensable.

Stephen Haggard

Stephen Haggard

UC San Diego

The NK News story

Founded 2010. Independent since day one.

Founded

NK News launched in 2010 as the first specialist English-language news service dedicated exclusively to North Korea. It has grown from a single-person operation to a team of specialist journalists, researchers, and analysts covering the Korean Peninsula full-time.

Ownership & Funding

NK News is owned and operated by Korea Risk Group, a privately held specialist media and intelligence company. It is funded almost entirely through reader subscriptions — no government grants, no institutional donors, no advertising revenue. The subscription model is not just a business decision; it is what makes the journalism credible.

Editorial Independence

NK News operates with full editorial independence from Korea Risk Group management. Editorial decisions are made by journalists and editors — not by funders, advertisers, or government bodies. NK News has published reporting critical of every government with an interest in the Korean Peninsula.

Track record

Cited, briefed, quoted.

UN, Congressional & Academic citation

NK News reporting has been cited in UN reports, U.S. Congressional hearings, and academic journals. Our analysts have testified before government committees and briefed diplomatic missions.

Major international media

NK News is regularly cited in the New York Times, Reuters, BBC, the Guardian, and other major international outlets covering North Korea. When significant DPRK stories break, NK News is where global media turns for sourcing and context.

Trusted by the people who need to know most

"The Panel found that being able to have access to NK News's regular reporting added greatly to our effectiveness. They were models of clarity, independence and probity." — Martin Uden, Former UN DPRK Panel of Experts Coordinator

The team

Specialists. Not generalists.

Every member of the NK News editorial team covers North Korea and related Korean Peninsula issues. There are no generalists parachuted in for breaking news. This specialisation produces a quality and depth of coverage that no regional or global outlet can match.

Staff & Exclusive Contributors

Andrei Lankov · Anton Sokolin · Chad O'Carroll · Colin Zwirko · Jeongmin Kim · John Lee · Jooheon Kim · Seungyeon Chung · Shreyas Reddy — and a network of correspondents and specialist guest contributors.

Expert Guest Contributors

NK News regularly publishes analysis from former government officials, active academics, policy specialists, and practitioners — including former ambassadors, UN experts, and university researchers with decades of Korea experience.

Andrei Lankov — Exclusive to NK News

Professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University and the most widely published Western academic on North Korean daily life. Writes exclusively for NK News. His column appears multiple times per year — the longest-running specialist column on North Korean society in English-language journalism.

NK News is privately owned and funded almost entirely through reader subscriptions. No government grants. No institutional donors. No advertising. That independence is the foundation of why what we publish is trusted by the people whose job is to know more than anyone else about North Korea.

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Diplomats, journalists, researchers, and analysts who need to know North Korea. Independent. Subscription-funded.

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