She's probably the most powerful woman in North Korea: Kim Yo Jong, the dictator’s younger sister. She’s viewed as an emotionless and shrewd strategist for her brother, the North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un. But just who is the "Red Princess"?
In his first trip outside of North Korea since the pandemic, Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss whether they each had something the other wants.
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jean Lee about the upcoming meeting between Kim Jong Un and Putin — and what North Korea might get out of it.
Jean Lee and Mark Hertling join CNN Erin Burnett Out Front to discuss Kim Jong Un’s trip to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.
Jean Lee joined Jim Acosta on CNN’s Situation Room to discuss reports that Kim Jong Un may meet with Vladimir Putin in Russia.
Jean speaks to the New York Times about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.
Jean speaks to the New York Times about Japan-South Korea relations.
Jean Lee shares how years of reporting from inside North Korea help her and her audiences better understand the nation.
Jean Lee joins Lewis Vaughan Jones on BBC’s The Context to discuss BBC reports about hunger and food shortages in North Korea.
Jean Lee talks about South Korean President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. and Biden administration policy toward Asia.
Jean joins the Lawfare podcast to discuss the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group, believed to have been responsible for several of the largest and most audacious incidents of hacking, ransomware and outright theft of the modern era.
Jean Lee joins BBC’s Outside Source to discuss North Korean hackers and the launch of Season 2 of The Lazarus Heist.
Jean Lee appears on BBC’s Global News Podcast to discuss North Korea and the. launch of Season 2 of The Lazarus Heist.
Jean Lee joins the BBC World Service to discuss North Korea’s launch of a suspected long-range ballistic missile just hours before the first Tokyo summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan in 12 years.
“The statements and policy changes are part of a broader strategy to destabilize and create anxiety,” said Jean H. Lee, a fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
Others caution that the latest shift is likely part of a familiar playbook for North Korea. “Given the political landscape, North Korea is looking for new and novel ways to ramp up tensions,” said Jean H. Lee, a visiting fellow at the East-West Center, a Honolulu-based think tank. “Calling South Korea Enemy No. 1 is a tactic Kim Jong Un may hope will spark some anxiety in the region and unease among South Koreans.”
She's probably the most powerful woman in North Korea: Kim Yo Jong, the dictator’s younger sister. She’s viewed as an emotionless and shrewd strategist for her brother, the North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un. But just who is the "Red Princess"?
In his first trip outside of North Korea since the pandemic, Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss whether they each had something the other wants.
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jean Lee about the upcoming meeting between Kim Jong Un and Putin — and what North Korea might get out of it.
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jean Lee about the upcoming meeting between Kim Jong Un and Putin.
Jean Lee and Mark Hertling join CNN Erin Burnett Out Front to discuss Kim Jong Un’s trip to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.
Jean Lee joined Jim Acosta on CNN’s Situation Room to discuss reports that Kim Jong Un may meet with Vladimir Putin in Russia.
Jean speaks to the New York Times about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.
Jean Lee shares how years of reporting from inside North Korea help her and her audiences better understand the nation.
Jean Lee speaks to The Current about the U.S. government's attempts to reach an American soldier in North Korea.
Jean speaks to CBC Radio about a U.S. soldier who bolted across the heavily-fortified North Korean border .
This week on CyberWire’s Hacking Humans podcast, our guests are Jean Lee and Geoff White from BBC and the Lazarus Heist talking about what is coming up in Season 2 of their show and how the Lazarus Group is evolving.
Jean Lee joins Lewis Vaughan Jones on BBC’s The Context to discuss BBC reports about hunger and food shortages in North Korea.
Jean Lee talks about South Korean President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. and Biden administration policy toward Asia.
Jean joins the Lawfare podcast to discuss the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group, believed to have been responsible for several of the largest and most audacious incidents of hacking, ransomware and outright theft of the modern era.
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.
Read MoreJean Lee joins host Margaret Brennan and Sue Mi Terry of CSIS to discuss the latest on North Korea on Face the Nation.
Read MoreKim 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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
“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.”Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read More
"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."
Read MoreMichel 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.
Read More“As a young man in his mid-30s, Kim Jong Un must woo the next generation if he’s to rule for decades to come,” Lee told Fox News. “Sports and technology — two things all young people love — are part of that equation.”Read More
"Snowboarding just doesn't have the same exposure there, and she doesn't have the same accomplishments yet as someone like Yuna Kim," says Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center, who previously served as Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang, North Korea. "But she has the potential. If she goes home with a medal, and I think she probably will, she'll become a huge star in South Korea."
Read More
Political experts say there is much to be learned from the warship crisis 50 years ago that brought the Korean peninsula to the brink of a second war.
Read More
Thanks to Jada Yuan, the New York Times' new World Traveler, for the shoutout in her interview about how she's preparing for her yearlong, 'round-the-world journey!
I was just on a snowboarding trip with Jean and downloaded her brain for two hours (look out for that in a future article). - Jada Yuan, the New York Times' world travelerRead More
Go inside the North Korean ski field where South Korea will join the North for Winter Olympics training. With photography by Jean H. Lee for Getty Images.
Read MoreJean 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.
Read More
The FT’s review of The Lazarus Heist, the Peabody-nominated BBC World Service podcast.