Chad O'Carroll
@chadocl
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Journalist from London, based in Seoul. Founder of This is a personal account, so it’s personal views (not official company ones).
Joined July 2013
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North Korea to deport US soldier Travis King for ‘illegally entering’ country
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South Korea’s presidential train — face-to-face seating similar to what you see on Kim Jong Il’s train — on display at the Railroad Museum of 🇰🇷
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North Korea related alert coming through now, even for a user with these alerts disabled
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This is the second time North Korean state media has recently posted pictures of Kim Jong Un adjacent to maps of South Korea:
1. April 2023: Kim reviewing “frontline attack operation plans”
2. June 2022: Kim discusses “enhancing” the operability of “front-line” units
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1/🚨 Whistleblowers Navy Malela & Gradi Koko exposed financial crimes linking their employer to North Korea.
Now, they face death sentences in their home country, the DRC, and live in fear in Europe.
Story by
@IfangBremer
:
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Here is an August example of London to Seoul direct flight prices in economy class.
When British Airways served this route until 2020, round-trips cost 700-1200 USD.
Imagine the situation if Korean Air and Asiana soon merge -- and no competition is left on this route at all...
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Can anyone recognize Kim Jong Un's ICBM-launch-watching beverage here?
Winner gets a free annual NK News subscription!
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Why is North Korea suddenly closing so many of its embassies? 1/7🧵
Unilateral closures of embassies in Angola, HK, Spain and Uganda - plus reports of 12+ more - marks a pivotal moment: 25%+ of 🇰🇵 embassies will close worldwide.
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Very sad news such a talented actor would end his life over the controversy in Korea over what were very minor drugs use issues and small scandals.
It’s unfortunate this country creates such a toxic environment around celebrity mishaps and drugs use.
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1/7 🚨Today, 10M Seoul residents awoke to a nightmare: blaring air raid sirens & "wartime alert" messages on phones.
“At 6:32 a.m., a warning is issued for the Seoul area. Please prepare to evacuate."
Panic set in, some probably braced for the worst:
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Here are the two locations the DPRK side claims that U.S. intel assets invaded North Korean airspace above its EEZ on Monday.
Map by
@ColinZwirko
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Even by 🇰🇵 purging standards, this is incredible. A short 🧵
As you can see in this video example, DPRK drama producers have reshot an ENTIRE series to replace the main actor with another actor.
Every single scene featuring him has been re-recorded:
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The abuse so many female colleagues get for just doing their jobs is unreal in Korea...
In comparison, I never get emails like this.
Even though my phone number is in emails that reach tens of thousands each year, I've never had a single prank call or abusive SMS...
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The rank hypocrisy of South Korea’s war on drugs in one picture…
It seeps into everything from government policy to netizen outrage at celeb use like Lee Sun-kyun… while simultaneously embracing figures like Elon — who isn’t shy of talking about his drug use.
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🚨 Kim Jong Un convened military officials to discuss "offensive" plans against South Korea.
Photos from the Central Military Commission (CMC) meeting show Kim pointing at a map of 🇰🇷.
This comes after 🇰🇵 defense chief hinted at a possible preemptive nuclear strike recently.
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Still no report of splashdown on North Korea's missile launch this morning.
At now more than 15 mins in, I've got a feeling this is going to be a big one.
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Hiking about 15 miles south of the inter-Korean border today, I saw a sign reminding of the proximity.
It asks people to call 1338 if they spot people, explosives or objects that may have crossed the border.
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Why are navigation and location based-services SO bad in South Korea?
Despite President Yoon Suk-yeol's vision of creating a global pivotal state, the country lags in navigation and location-based tech.
Hence, Google & Apple maps SUCK here.
Why? (1/7)
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1/ I and
@chung_yeji
met an old man named Lee Jong-yeol, forcibly evicted from his home in Seoul 🇰🇷, after living there for 70+ years.
He's now protesting outside the new apartment complex built on the land he once called home.
This is his story. 🧵
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Several North Koreans in ROK custody after crossing sea border by boat: Seoul
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1/9 🚨As a foreign journalist in South Korea, I wanted to investigate why we face second-rate access to the government!🇰🇷
📰 Local media is favored, and international press struggle with access to ministries, briefings, and primary sources.
Full story:
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DPRK military hat found on Yeonpyeong Island by a guest on our “North Korea from a near distance tour”
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JSA crossing update:
Eyewitness Mikaela Johansson of Sweden, who said she was on the same tour, wrote that when her group visited the Joint Security Area one of the male guests made the dash across the MDL.
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To alert a city of ten million about the risks of falling debris from a satellite on a trajectory far from Seoul seems like absolute overkill.
But again, South Korea uses the same emergency alert system to warn of warm weather, cool weather, and everything in between… 🤷
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1/5: Incredible:
Former Mongolian Pres. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj told
@nknewsorg
he requested to inspect 🇰🇵 prison camps + nuclear facilities before his 2013 visit to Pyongyang.
It was a trip that had been scheduled to include a meeting with Kim Jong Un.
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Ever flown into Incheon airport in 🇰🇷?
Here's satellite imagery showing how it was slowly built during the 1990s.
The project involved massive tide reclamation that effectively joined multiple islands into one large airport.
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Reminder of the satellite trajectory.
Unless it dramatically swerved off course, hard to understand the warnings for Seoul.
Thanks to a tip from
@martyn_williams
I took a look at the warning areas for the upcoming (NET May 31) North Korean recon sat launch.
The map below shows the launch site, polygonal warning areas and (orange lines) my fit to the trajectories. (1/n)...
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Just back after taking part in the first South Korea evacuation drills in six years.
Some observations:
- Barely anyone in our building left their office
- Shops, restaurants continued as if nothing
- It took almost 15 mins to get to the assembly point
- It was BOILING hot there
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It's Day of the Sun '태양절' in North Korea today.
Kim Il Sung, the DPRK's founding president, was born on April 15, 1912. Today is the 111th anniversary of his birth.
Incidentally, the 1912 birthdate was the same day the Titanic sank...
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Very well said by Dave.
Many of Yoon’a cheerleaders in DC have struck me as being deeply disconnected to how things actually are in 🇰🇷 and it’s one of the reasons I’ve stopped reading much of their work…
They ignored the polls over and over and promote policies few want here.
The DC Blob engaged in lots of performative sighs of relief in 2022 when Yoon was elected president: "revitalizing the alliance" was a common title of policy papers at the time. As if under progressive govts, the US-ROK alliance was in tatters, which is most surely was not...
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THREAD: North Korea's end-of-year plenum offers crucial insights into its strategic direction.
Gone are the NYD speeches, replaced by multi-day meetings that reflect on progress and set future objectives.
A thread on the key takeaways & implications:
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North Korea’s preparations for military parade shift into high gear: Imagery
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2/7 📡30 mins later, it was clear: the alert was triggered by a North Korean satellite launch, not an attack.
The government swiftly called the evacuation notice a "mistake," but the damage was done.
Many experts are calling this a gross misjudgment.
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Currently 1-1 in women’s football between North and South Korea at the Asian Games
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North Korea tests underwater nuclear drone system in response to US drills: KCNA
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If the North Korean satellite works as functions, one thing I pray is that South Korean authorities finally figure out HOW STUPID their censorship of maps, navigation and satellite imagery is.
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What happens next with the American who ran into North Korea yesterday?
TBH my money is if he’s just a wanted potential 🇺🇸 prisoner, they probably expel him quickly.
IMHO 🇰🇵 is too proud these days to take Americans long-term -- unless they are a major intel asset.
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NEW: North Korea's satellite launch, which came just ahead of the announced window, was a success according to state media.
After two failed attempts earlier this year, it was third time lucky.
What changes? A quick thread...
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Still no news of splashdown… also possible this could be related to North Korea’s pledge to prepare for a military reconnaissance satellite launch around April.
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Why has DPRK state media deleted its archive?
1/ 🚨 KCNA has purged its archive, deleting nearly all content published before 2023.
The move follows Kim Jong Un's declaration that unification with South Korea is "impossible." 🇰🇵
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Ashamed to say, but today was my first trip to the Korean War museum in Seoul — after living here since 2016 😳😳
Amazingly they have one of Kim Il Sung’s former Soviet limousines.
Even more amazingly - it arrived in ‘13 after years spent in a New Jersey man’s car collection!
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Another sandwich crime against humanity documented in 🇰🇷 today!
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Happy Christmas from the sleety streets of Seoul!
Hope you have a great day whether or not you celebrate
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Spring greetings from Gapyeong 🇰🇷 from the local
@nknewsorg
and
@southkoreapro
teams in Seoul!
👋👋👋
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Why are there so many discrepancies and apparent exaggerations in Yeonmi Park's accounting of her original life back in North Korea?
Washington Post investigates, including comment from
@andreilankov
:
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Great scoop from
@ColinZwirko
: North Korea demolishes symbolic unification arch, satellite imagery suggests
Read the full story, only at NK News:
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I never realized you can see Japan from South Korea.
But there it is in the distance!
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3/7 "A false alert in Seoul, where people are hyper-sensitive to the N. Korean threat, can have harmful consequences," said
@oldtype
, a ROK politics expert.
The distrust in the alert system will now increase tenfold.
A colossal government blunder or necessary precaution?
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What kind of boats are used to defect from North Korea to South Korea?
These are some examples from the DMZ Museum in Goseong.
Goseong is about an hour north of Sokcho -- the location it appears new arrivals from DPRK arrived today.
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4/7 Context: It's crucial to note that 🇰🇵 had notified the IMO about the satellite launch between May 31 and June 10.
So, some say the decision to issue the alarm in response to the launch was nonsensical.
"The siren seems totally silly in Seoul," said Astronomer
@planet4589
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Kim Jong Un oversees hypersonic missile engine test: State media
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Retired Lt. Col. Steve Tharp, who worked in the JSA, said he had no idea how the North Koreans would react to the incident as there was “so little data out there” about events like this.
“This is the first contact since COVID,” he said.
“We don’t know what they’re thinking.”
American crosses into North Korea during Panmunjom tour: UN Command
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🚨 The first U.S. nuclear-capable submarine to visit the peninsula in 40 years arrives today in Busan 🇰🇷.
At the very least, we can expect very strong protests by North Korea in the next 12-18 hours or so...
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Abandoned 🇰🇵 Kumgangsan tour travel agent near Mt. Seorak in 🇰🇷
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Correction: The announced window of the satellite launch attempt was May 31-June 11, not May 31-June 10.
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7/7 While some say "better safe than sorry," others warn false alarms risk undermining the warning system.
@nktpnd
calls for a "serious review" of procedures.
And now there's disagreement in 🇰🇷 about who was to blame for sending the alert.
Full story:
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I think part of the problem is when so many form the U.S. fly over to Korea, it’s going from one bubble to another.
- round trip biz class
- stay at Hyatt or Four Seasons
- meet English speaking experts (mostly conservative, nat security types)
- fly home after 2-3 days
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After one of the coldest and longest winters since I arrived in South Korea, spring finally seems to be arriving!
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Regulation in Korea is insane… thought it would be cool to start a small AirBnb experiences page to bring people along parts of the border.
But the red tape is incredible…
1. To incorporate any travel costs for driving customers, I apparently need a taxi driver license.
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A rare
@nknewsorg
aerial photo of Panmunjeom / JSA in May 2021.
In this photo, no guards can be seen on either side of the military demarcation line.
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North Korean radio coming in loud and clear on FM in Yeonpyeong Island. No jamming here it seems.
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Anyone noticed in South Korea that stainless steel and other shaped metal is often left with these stickers on, for years or decades?
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Here's what happens when you complain too often about not getting cited by Yonhap! 😅
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1/ AN OPEN SECRET: South Korean govt officials regularly use personal email for official business, risking security breaches & data leaks.
Despite fears of 🇰🇵 hacks, this practice is widespread across the government, regardless of some denials:
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While I don't think a summit between Kishida and Kim Jong Un is likely any time soon, I think it's still worth asking why Kim Yo Jong is announcing Tokyo's interest in this publicly *right now*.
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So, I read the publication of photos like this as a key component of the broader tactical nuclear weapons development program.
It's yet another reminder from 🇰🇵 to 🇰🇷 that war planners should believe tactical nuclear weapons use is quite likely in the event of confrontation...
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6/7 📡 Critics argue the tech to distinguish real threats from tests exists, so alerts should be saved for genuine emergencies.
Israeli missile researcher
@inbarspace
cites Israel's ultra-focused alert system as an example, which triggers on localized neighborhoods only.
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Literally stranded on Jebu Island near Incheon.
Rookie mistake: had no idea the bridge gets flooded when the tide comes in!
Stuck here until 830 at least 🥲
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If you live in a South Korean apartment, you are regularly subjected to obligatory public service announcements in your OWN home …
This just went off around 830.
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Team
@nknewsorg
currently on its first retreat in almost five years…
Good to be back and meeting people again after the COVID era!
Can you guess the country?
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North Korea's front-page coverage of ICBM launches over the years:
- Hwasong-14 (July 2017)
- Hwasong-15 (Nov. 2017)
- Hwasong-17 (March 2022)
- Hwasong-18 (April 2023)
Notably, no Kim Jong Un signed letter on today's Rodong Sinmun to approve the launch -- a small change.
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5/7 The launch didn't fly near Seoul or any part of mainland S. Korea.
Experts say emergency planners should've known it wasn't a threat.
@ArmsControlWonk
points out that 🇰🇵 space launches happen over the ocean and pose no threat to Seoul.
So why the alarm and sirens?
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My experience this morning:
- Got to Seoul airport
- Entered the parade area after showing my credentials
- Expelled from air base for not having an armband (no one gave me one)
- No one could then find my name to re-enter
- Then they found it and let me back in
In a last minute decision and in pouring rain, all press who previously received permission to cover the rare military parade in central Seoul are being denied access to the coverage area. Only 3 media allowed, including the government-run military TV station.
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North Korea is making bold claims today about U.S. drones and other assets flying into DPRK airspace.
It is not only publishing this via state media, but circulating to defense attachés in Beijing at foreign embassies.
More imminently at
@nknewsorg
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Today I predict mostly watching solid-fuel ICBM launch footage on extended repeat
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So what's going on? Motivations likely include:
a) U.N. sanctions pressure,
b) a trend of global 🇰🇵 disengagement
c) a weakening North Korean economy.
Sanctions have made it difficult for the DPRK to use diplomatic missions to generate illicit revenue, making them net costs.
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Now there's an evacuation order in Hokkaido, Japan:
This suggests we might be seeing the first long-distance ICBM test, if there are no reports of splash down near Japan in the next 20-30.
【国民保護情報】
直ちに避難。直ちに避難。直ちに建物の中、又は地下へ避難して下さい。
ミサイルが、08時00分頃、北海道周辺に落下するものとみられます。直ちに避難して下さい。
受信日時 13日07時55分
対象地域：北海道
2K
25K
26K
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It was common for such maps to appear in state media coverage of meetings or military drills in 2017 and before.
But a key difference now is that North Korea has been working vigorously on tactical nuclear weapons development and deployment.
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As a friend pointed out to me today, why are there so many assumptions that freshly made North Korean munitions and conventional weapons will be extremely unreliable?
This is a country which has demonstrated massive technological feats in ballistic missile tech in recent years.
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The people sending this stuff are really pathetic...
But what surprises me most is they feel comfortable hitting send with their own names on the emails and other identifiable information often readily available.
Just goes to show how unhinged they are...
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Last Sept,
@nknewsorg
inaugurated a very special inter-Korean border security, accompanied by some of the best 🇰🇵 experts in South Korea.
Now the tour is returning, w/ an improved + optimized itinerary of all the best places along the border!
Full info:
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Korea Risk Group is ready to host for its second annual Seoul rooftop networking event!
😎😎😎
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