Jean H. Lee is a journalist and former Pyongyang Bureau Chief for the Associated Press. Both her parents were born in South Korea and immigrated as students to the United States in the 1960s. Before moderating a Zócalo/UCLA panel discussion titled “Is War With North Korea Inevitable?” at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles, she spoke in the green room about supermarket shopping in Pyongyang and whether North Koreans have horns.
Read More'Wild card' Trump heads into North Korea's line of sight →
In the South Korean capital Seoul, Trump will find people who have lived with that reality for decades.
"It's crucial for Trump to show that he's willing to defend and protect South Korea because there's a lot of questions and concerns on the part of South Koreans about his commitment to that alliance, and that has fed fears here in South Korea that they may be abandoned," said Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former Pyongyang bureau chief for The Associated Press.
Read MoreWilson Center: Trump’s Asia Visit and North Korea Fever →
All eyes will be on President Trump as he heads to Asia next week, with seething tensions over North Korea topping his diplomatic agenda. Global Fellow Jean H. Lee says that while Pyongyang’s neighbors are accustomed to anxiety about the nuclear threat, the temperature – and the stakes – are only continuing to rise: “It’s not the first time that we’ve had this fever. That said, we need this fever to subside.” Differences between the U.S. president and his South Korean counterpart, the Kim regime’s strategy, and China’s current calculations are also discussed in the latest edition of Wilson Center NOW.
Read MoreNew York Times: Kim Jong-un Called Trump a ‘Dotard.’ What Does That Even Mean? →
Jean H. Lee, a former Pyongyang bureau chief for The Associated Press, said on Twitter that she had visited the offices of KCNA, the North Korean state news service, and found the agency using very old Korean-English dictionaries for their translations.
Read MoreWNYC The Brian Lehrer Show: North Korea Continues to Test Bombs →
After North Korea's latest nuclear test over the weekend, the largest yet, Jean Lee, global fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and former Associated Press Pyongyang Bureau Chief, talks about President Trump's bellicose response, how that affects the U.S. relationship to longtime ally South Korea, and what else to expect from the North. However, Trump's response and the Trump administration response are different. "The mixed messages are going to help North Korea," explains Lee, who is stationed in Seoul, South Korea currently. And she says that "as a proud American," she is worried, "that [Trump] will lead us into a military conflict that will destroy this region."
Read MoreJohn Batchelor Show: Where in the world is Kim Han Sol? →
Where in the world is Kim Han Sol? Jean Lee @newsjean Wilson Center speaks to @gordongchang on the John Batchelor Show about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother that has sent the slain man's son into hiding.
Read MorePBS NewsHour: How South Koreans are responding to pressure on North Korea from Trump →
South Korea conducted more military drills Tuesday, the latest to deter North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday. But there are growing concerns about U.S.-South Korea relations, as President Trump pushes South Korea to get tougher, threatening a trade deal and potentially driving a wedge between the two allies. William Brangham reports on the tensions rising with the Korean peninsula.
Read MoreCNN: N. Korea believed to be moving intercontinental missile, Seoul lawmaker says, by Taehoon Lee and Josh Berlinger →
"This is not the time for these two countries to be showing these cracks. North Korea is going to exploit that," said Jean Lee, a North Korea expert and global fellow at the Wilson Center.
CNN: U.S., South Korea to deploy military assets, Sept. 4, 2017 →
BBC NewsHour: Missile Launch a 'prelude' says North Korea, Aug. 30, 2017 →
A day after North Korea fired a missile over Japan, Kim Jong-un hints at further action describing the launch as "a meaningful prelude to containing Guam". We try to assess the North's strategic thinking.
Read More
Foreign Policy: Should You Go to North Korea While You Still Can? By Eric Fish →
“North Korea goes out of its way to make it hard for foreigners and locals to cross paths,” said Jean H. Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center who opened the Associated Press’s Pyongyang bureau in 2012 and frequently reported from inside the country. “That said, there are moments when tours do intersect with ordinary North Koreans. Though very brief, those interactions are valuable.”
BBC Radio 4 Today on Aug. 29, 2017 →
North Korea fired a missile early on Tuesday that flew over northern Japan before crashing into the sea off the coast of Hokkaido. Jean Lee is the former bureau chief for the Associated Press in North Korea.
Read MoreBBC Radio Scotland: Good Morning Scotland on Aug. 29, 2017 →
The nation's morning news programme, presented by Gary Robertson and Hayley Millar with travel every 15 minutes, weather every half hour, business updates and sports reports.
Read MoreCNN International: S. Korean Court to Rule in Samsung Corruption Case →
.@newsjean of @TheWilsonCenter @CouncilKA @NCNKorea talks #SouthKorea #Samsung case
— CNN Today (@cnntoday) August 24, 2017
https://t.co/i50nfbwy7r
C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty →
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.
Read More
BBC Newshour: North Korea's Guam Missile Threats →
North Korea says it will complete a plan to land missiles near Guam by mid-August then wait for approval from leader Kim Jong-un.
Read MoreAl Jazeera: US, South Korea laud new UN sanctions on Pyongyang →
Jean Lee, a fellow at the Wilson Centre, said it was "not the right time" for Tillerson to engage with his North Korean counterpart.
"The US and its allies will be looking for some proof and concrete steps taken by the North Korean side to show that they are willing to discuss a freeze or step back from the nuclear provocations, before they even begin discussing engagement," she told Al Jazeera from Seoul, South Korea's capital.
Read MoreCNBC: North Korea sanctions could trigger more missiles and test US-China ties →
"There are concerns that North Korea could respond with more defiance: further tests of missile technology that would get the regime close to its goal of mounting a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) — or another nuclear test," echoed Jean H. Lee, global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former Pyongyang bureau chief at the Associated Press.
Read MoreBBC World Business Report: North Korea Economy Surges Despite Sanctions
North Korea's economy accelerated at its fastest pace in 17 years last year. Jean Lee of the Woodrow Wilson Center assesses the figures.
Read MoreLa Reppublica: Jean H. Lee: Ma Forse Pechino non controlla più il pericoloso vicino nordcoreano →
La studiosa del Wilson Center: "Gli Stati Uniti invocano l'aiuto del Dragone. In effetti nessuno vuole il collasso del regime"
dal nostro corrispondente ANGELO AQUARO
Read More
The FT’s review of The Lazarus Heist, the Peabody-nominated BBC World Service podcast.