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Oct 29, 2018

ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside

Oct 29, 2018

When experienced reporter Jean Lee took on the role of AP bureau chief in Seoul, she was asked to establish a bureau in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.

The task, which seemed almost impossible, became even less certain when the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, disappeared.

Jean managed to open the news bureau in 2012, and was witness to the momentous change brought to North Korea by Kim Jong Il’s death.

Oct 29, 2018

Jun 6, 2018

CBS News' Face the Nation

Jun 6, 2018

Jean Lee joins host Margaret Brennan and Sue Mi Terry of CSIS to discuss the latest on North Korea on Face the Nation.

Jun 6, 2018

Feb 23, 2018

VICE News Tonight: Binge watching North Korean TV is surreal — and educational

Feb 23, 2018

To understand more about what North Koreans are watching and what the government wants them to think, we arranged a screening with Jean Lee, who became an expert in North Korean television when she worked as a journalist in Pyongyang.

Feb 23, 2018

Feb 21, 2018

VICE News Tonight (HBO): North Korean soap operas

Feb 21, 2018

In order to learn more about Kim’s policy priorities and everyday life in the secretive kingdom, VICE News binges North Korean soaps with the Wilson Center’s Jean Lee.

Feb 21, 2018

Feb 10, 2018

NPR's All Things Considered: The Political Gamesmanship Behind The 2018 Winter Olympics

Feb 10, 2018

Michel Martin asks North Korea expert Jean Lee, former Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, and former COO for the U.S. Olympic Committee Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson about behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

Feb 10, 2018

Jan 18, 2018

NPR WBUR Here and Now: North Korean Olympic performers 'propaganda coup'

Jan 18, 2018

Jean Lee (@newsjean) is a journalist and Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. She speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about the Olympic detente that North and South Korea are negotiating, which is leading to a unified march during the PyeongChang Olympics opening ceremony next month, and a delegation of North Korean musicians and cheerleaders attending the games.

Jan 18, 2018

Jan 8, 2018

NPR, All Things Considered: North Koreans' Attitudes Of The U.S.

Jan 8, 2018

The relationship between President Trump and Kim Jong Un made headlines again this past week. NPR's Michel Martin talks with North Korea expert Jean H. Lee, of the Wilson Center about how people on the Korean peninsula view the U.S.

Jan 8, 2018

Aug 26, 2017

C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty

Aug 26, 2017

The Sidebar with Steve Scully: As tensions with North Korea rise, this week we examine the history of that country's ruling Kim family. We spoke to Jean H Lee, author of "Kings of Communism: Inside Kim Jong Un's Bloody Scramble to Kill of His Family" in the September edition of Esquire Magazine.

Aug 26, 2017

Apr 15, 2017

PBS NewsHour: North Korea rebukes US as Navy strike group advances

Apr 15, 2017

North Korea marked its most important holiday today -- the Day of the Sun, which commemorates the birthday of founding ruler Kim Il-sung. Jean Lee joins Hari Sreenivasan from Seoul for more on tensions with North Korea.

Apr 15, 2017

Feb 24, 2017

PBS NewsHour: Chemical weapon killed Kim Jong Un’s half-brother

Feb 24, 2017

Recent media appearances

Featured

Oct 29, 2018

ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside

Oct 29, 2018

When experienced reporter Jean Lee took on the role of AP bureau chief in Seoul, she was asked to establish a bureau in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.

The task, which seemed almost impossible, became even less certain when the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, disappeared.

Jean managed to open the news bureau in 2012, and was witness to the momentous change brought to North Korea by Kim Jong Il’s death.

Oct 29, 2018

Sep 19, 2018

NPR Here and Now: Kim Jong Un Agrees To Shut Missile Site, On One Major Condition

Sep 19, 2018

The leaders of North and South Korea announced a wide range of agreements Wednesday, which they said were a major step toward peace on the Korean peninsula. But the premier pledge of denuclearization contained a big precondition: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he'd permanently dismantle his main nuclear complex only if the United States takes corresponding measures.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Jean Lee (@newsjean), director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center.

Sep 19, 2018

Aug 16, 2018

New York Times: Why Is the U.S. Wary of a Declaration to End the Korean War?

Aug 16, 2018

“You have South Korea moving so quickly on these projects to push for reconciliation with North Korea, and in Washington you have people pushing for denuclearization before anything else happens,” said Jean H. Lee, director of the Wilson Center’s center for Korean history and public policy. “They have very different end games and very different time frames. It’s very problematic.”

Aug 16, 2018

Jul 14, 2018

CNBC: The US is trying to nail down terms with Pyongyang, while 'South Koreans aren't wasting time'

Jul 14, 2018

"The more protracted the U.S.-North Korean negotiations, the more potential for a gap between Washington and Seoul on North Korea policy as South Korea makes moves to lift its sanctions to allow for economic partnership.”

Jul 14, 2018

Jun 14, 2018

Washington Post: Documentary shows Trump saluting North Korean general

Jun 14, 2018

Though only a brief interaction, it was telling that the salute was included in the documentary, according to Jean H. Lee, a North Korea scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.

“This is a moment that will be used over and over in North Korea’s propaganda as 'proof' that the American president defers to the North Korean military,” Lee said. “It will be treated as a military victory by the North Koreans.”

Jun 14, 2018

Jun 11, 2018

NPR: What Daily Life In North Korea Looks Like

Jun 11, 2018

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with North Korea expert Jean Lee about what daily life is like in the country and how much the average person knows about the upcoming summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Jun 11, 2018

CNN: Analysis: The moment the US treated North Korea "as an equal"

Jun 11, 2018

No matter what comes next in the talks between Kim Jong Un and President Trump, their handshake will remain historic, Jean H. Lee, a North Korea expert at the US-based Wilson Center, told CNN.

"I’m really thinking about how this is going to play in Pyongyang because this is such a powerful moment for the North Korean people," she said.

"It will be celebrated in North Korea as the moment the United States acknowledged and treated North Korea as an equal.”

Jun 11, 2018

Jun 6, 2018

Politico: Will Trump stand up for free press in Singapore?

Jun 6, 2018

When President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, it will mark the coming together of perhaps the world’s most sealed-off and press-hostile autocrat with a president who frequently rages against the media, all in a country known for its repressive views on free speech.

Needless to say, journalists are concerned over what access will be granted at the historic meeting.

Jun 6, 2018

CBS News' Face the Nation

Jun 6, 2018

Jean Lee joins host Margaret Brennan and Sue Mi Terry of CSIS to discuss the latest on North Korea on Face the Nation.

Jun 6, 2018

BBC: Kim Jong-un: The new kid on the diplomatic block

Jun 6, 2018

Kim Jong-un has suddenly become the new popular leader in the political class of 2018.

After years in isolation, he has emerged as a powerful player. Leaders from China, Russia, Syria, South Korea and the US have all met or are due to meet Mr Kim this year.

Jun 6, 2018

May 28, 2018

NPR Weekend Edition: Latest on the North Korea Summit

May 28, 2018

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to Korea expert Jean Lee of the Wilson Center about the latest on North Korea and a meeting between Kim Jong Un and President Trump.

May 28, 2018

Apr 27, 2018

NPR: What To Know About North And South Korea's Leaders Ahead Of Their Summit

Apr 27, 2018

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jean Lee, Director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She talks about what is known about the leaders of both North and South Korea, and what this summit means for both of them.

Apr 27, 2018

Apr 26, 2018

NPR: What To Expect From Friday's Summit Between North And South Korea

Apr 26, 2018

There's reason for caution when it comes to expectations about North Korea, warns Jean Lee, director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Kim's understanding of "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula — a key U.S. goal — may be very different from what President Trump expects, says Lee.

Apr 26, 2018

Apr 10, 2018

Award-Winning Reporter Jean Lee to Lead Wilson Center’s Korea Studies

Apr 10, 2018

WASHINGTON – Jean H. Lee will serve as the new Director of the Wilson Center’s Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, drawing upon her unique experiences as a Pulitzer-Prize-nominated journalist and expert on South and North Korea.

Apr 10, 2018

Mar 11, 2018

The Diplomat: What Does a Trump-Kim Meeting Mean for China?

Mar 11, 2018

“Kim Jong-un is making it clear that he is no one’s ‘little brother’ — certainly not China’s. He wants to sit at the table with the United States.”

Mar 11, 2018

Mar 9, 2018

Washington Post: A North Korean propaganda film foretold proposed talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un

Mar 9, 2018

The news that President Trump had accepted an offer to meet Kim Jong Un to talk about North Korean denuclearization took many people by surprise.

Thursday's announcement had come after nearly a year of rapidly increasing tension between the United States and North Korea, as Pyongyang made considerable leaps in its nuclear weapons program despite the Trump administration's “maximum pressure” strategy.

But this scenario may have been foretold. As Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on North Korea's nuclear program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey has noted, there was a preview of a similar line of events — in a North Korean propaganda film aired years ago.

Mar 9, 2018

Feb 23, 2018

VICE News Tonight: Binge watching North Korean TV is surreal — and educational

Feb 23, 2018

Feb 21, 2018

VICE News Tonight (HBO): North Korean soap operas

Feb 21, 2018

In order to learn more about Kim’s policy priorities and everyday life in the secretive kingdom, VICE News binges North Korean soaps with the Wilson Center’s Jean Lee.

Feb 21, 2018

Feb 20, 2018

CNBC: North Korea is at the Olympics — but North Koreans probably won't get to see much of it

Feb 20, 2018

"The North Koreans won't have the same kind of access to the Olympics as we do. But if their athletes do well, they will certainly be celebrating it."

Feb 20, 2018

Feb 13, 2018

Vice News Tonight|HBO on Instagram

Feb 13, 2018

We binge-watched North Korean soap operas to learn more about Kim Jong Un's policy priorities and everyday life in the secretive kingdom. See it on VICE News Tonight, 7:30 on @hbo

Feb 13, 2018

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Haaretz: AP's Senior Editor Tells Haaretz: Pyongyang Reports Will Not Be Censored read more: http://www.haaretz.com/ap-s-senior-editor-tells-haaretz-pyongyang-reports-will-not-be-censored-1.408871 →

January 24, 2012

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