What does North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine mean for Kim Jong-un’s geopolitical ambitions?
Jean joins Steve Lai in Seoul to discuss South Korea’s snap presidential election for BBC News.
Jean joins The Conversation host Catherine Cruz on Hawai’i Public Radio to discuss political uncertainty in South Korea and the latest crypto heist pinned on North Korean hackers.
The East-West Center announces the appointment of Jean H. Lee as the Center’s inaugural Presidential Chair.
Jean speaks to Juana Summers, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, to discuss latest developments in South Korea’s ongoing political crisis.
Jean joins Katie Phang on MSNBC to discuss the political turmoil in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law.
Jean speaks to BBC’s Newshour program after South Korea’s president reverses course after declaring martial law in a tumultuous night of political upheaval in Seoul.
Jean speaks to the New York Times about the political upheaval in Seoul after President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law.
Jean is quoted in a Nov. 4, 2024, Wall Street Journal story featuring analysis of Kim Jong Un’s risky embrace of Russia.
Jean joins Julie Mason on The Julie Mason Show on SiriusXM to discuss what to make of reports that North Korea is sending troops to Ukraine to fight with Russia.
Jean joins Julian Worricker on BBC Radio4’s The World Tonight radio show on Oct. 23, 2024, to discuss reports that Washington has seen evidence 3,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and may be sent to fight in Ukraine.
Jean joins the BBC World Service’s Newshour program on Oct. 23, 2024, to discuss news that the US and South Korea have said that about 3,000 troops from North Korea are in Russia, raising concerns that they may fight in Russia war in Ukraine.
Jean speaks to Rob Schmitz on NPR’s All Things Considered about the relationship between Russia and North Korea.
From Hollywood hacks to billion-dollar heists, North Korea is rewriting the rules of cyber warfare. Learn all about the regime's elite hackers with Jean Lee.
Jean joins CNN’s Erin Burnett and investigative journalist Christo Grozev for CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront to discuss President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Pyongyang.
The war in Ukraine has shifted the balance of power between Moscow, Pyongyang, and Beijing. As the geopolitical landscape evolves, new alliances and meetings come into focus. After Vladimir Putin's visit to China in May, there are now reports of an imminent meeting between the Russian President and Kim Jong Un. The North Korean leader has recently hailed his country's ties with Russia, saying the two nations are "invincible comrades-in-arms."
Katya speaks to the host of the BBC’s Lazarus Heist podcast, Jean Lee, and the Financial Times’ Seoul bureau chief, Christian Davies. They discuss what North Korea's end game is and how worried the rest of the world should be.
What does North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine mean for Kim Jong-un’s geopolitical ambitions?
Jean joins Steve Lai in Seoul to discuss South Korea’s snap presidential election for BBC News.
Jean joins The Conversation host Catherine Cruz on Hawai’i Public Radio to discuss political uncertainty in South Korea and the latest crypto heist pinned on North Korean hackers.
The East-West Center announces the appointment of Jean H. Lee as the Center’s inaugural Presidential Chair.
Jean speaks to Juana Summers, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, to discuss latest developments in South Korea’s ongoing political crisis.
Jean joins Katie Phang on MSNBC to discuss the political turmoil in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law.
Jean speaks to BBC’s Newshour program after South Korea’s president reverses course after declaring martial law in a tumultuous night of political upheaval in Seoul.
Jean speaks to the New York Times about the political upheaval in Seoul after President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law.
Jean is quoted in a Nov. 4, 2024, Wall Street Journal story featuring analysis of Kim Jong Un’s risky embrace of Russia.
Jean joins Julie Mason on The Julie Mason Show on SiriusXM to discuss what to make of reports that North Korea is sending troops to Ukraine to fight with Russia.
Jean joins Julian Worricker on BBC Radio4’s The World Tonight radio show on Oct. 23, 2024, to discuss reports that Washington has seen evidence 3,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and may be sent to fight in Ukraine.
Jean joins the BBC World Service’s Newshour program on Oct. 23, 2024, to discuss news that the US and South Korea have said that about 3,000 troops from North Korea are in Russia, raising concerns that they may fight in Russia war in Ukraine.
Jean speaks to Rob Schmitz on NPR’s All Things Considered about the relationship between Russia and North Korea.
The North’s participation in these Games signalled a “remarkable” return to the international fold, suggested Jean H Lee, a former Associated Press journalist who opened the US news agency’s first bureau in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
From Hollywood hacks to billion-dollar heists, North Korea is rewriting the rules of cyber warfare. Learn all about the regime's elite hackers with Jean Lee.
Jean joins CNN’s Erin Burnett and investigative journalist Christo Grozev for CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront to discuss President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Pyongyang.
The war in Ukraine has shifted the balance of power between Moscow, Pyongyang, and Beijing. As the geopolitical landscape evolves, new alliances and meetings come into focus. After Vladimir Putin's visit to China in May, there are now reports of an imminent meeting between the Russian President and Kim Jong Un. The North Korean leader has recently hailed his country's ties with Russia, saying the two nations are "invincible comrades-in-arms."
Katya speaks to the host of the BBC’s Lazarus Heist podcast, Jean Lee, and the Financial Times’ Seoul bureau chief, Christian Davies. They discuss what North Korea's end game is and how worried the rest of the world should be.
Jean speaks to William Gallo of the Voice of America about North Korea’s campaign to send balloons filled with garbage across the DMZ to South Korea.
“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.
But with global attention diverted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea might see this time as a chance to test weapons without as much risk of punishment, said Jean H. Lee, a senior fellow at the Korea program at the Wilson Center, a think tank in Washington.
“Regardless, I think Kim has his own timeline and goals for new weapons in 2022,” Ms. Lee said. “He wants to have new weapons to unveil this spring. Tests get him closer to perfecting the technology.”
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Before Squid Game, BTS, and Parasite, South Korea dazzled the world in a different field… figure skating. All thanks to their queen of the ice, Yuna Kim. On February 25, 2010 she set a new world record at the Winter Olympics. But Yuna’s path to the Olympics was bigger than her — and charts the history of a nation emerging into a new chapter.
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From K-Pop supergroup BTS to Oscar-winner Parasite to Netflix global sensation Squid Game, South Korea seems to be churning out one massive cultural hit after another. And North Korea is taking notice. In this episode of the GZERO World podcast, a tale of two very different Koreas. Jean Lee, former AP Pyongyang bureau chief and veteran Korea correspondent, speaks with Ian Bremmer.
Read MoreFirst it was Parasite at the Oscars. Then BTS dazzling young people worldwide. Now everyone's glued to Squid Game. What will South Korea come up with next? For veteran Korea correspondent Jean Lee, the country is definitely punching above its (geographical) weight on soft power.
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“When he first emerged, nobody knew who he was and so he had to lean so much on his grandfather and his father’s legacy. And the first song that came out was ‘Footsteps’. That was an ode to Kim Jong Un that showed you may not know this young man but he’s going to follow in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather. So now 10 years later the message is he can stand on his own.”
Read MoreLed by Jean Lee, a Pulitzer-nominated foreign correspondent who has operated out of North Korea, and Geoff White, a veteran freelance investigative journalist who specializes in cybercrime, The Lazarus Heist offers one of the more pressing and interesting geopolitical stories to blend the unsettling and the absurd, all presented in exquisitely competent fashion.
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NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Jean Lee, senior fellow at the Wilson Center, about what North Korea is trying to achieve through weapons tests, and proclamations of building an invincible military.
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“Who would I have been? How would I have survived?” These questions swirled in Lee’s mind as she traveled around North Korea for the AP, witnessing the poverty and malnutrition in one of the world’s poorest countries. Eager to help her local sources but mindful of U.S. sanctions, Lee limited gifts to baby items, like newborn clothes and soap, which she knew the recipients would not sell on the black market.
Read MoreNPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the Wilson Center's Jean Lee about North Korea's testing of cruise missiles and about at how the country is handling COVID-19.
Read MoreKim Jong Un presides over a midnight parade featuring emergency medical troops instead of missiles, sporting a western suit and a slim new look.
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Jean Lee on Kim Jong Un’s appearance at a midnight parade on Foundation Day: “He’s trying to evoke a different era and trying to lean on the goodwill and the affection that the people have for his grandfather to remind them ‘We’ve been through this before, my grandfather led you through this, I will lead you through this as well. And I’m the direct inheritor of my grandfather’s legacy.’”
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North Korea appears to have restarted a nuclear reactor believed to have previously produced plutonium for weapons, according to a report from the UN atomic agency. In this episode of The Stream, we discuss the implications of Pyongyang expanding its nuclear program and its potential impact on the Korean peninsula and beyond.
Read MoreIt is a bet that more firepower will give it more leverage in eventual talks centered on trading the stockpile away, said Jean H. Lee, a senior fellow at the Korea program at the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.
Read MoreNorth Korea is clamping down on South Korea's cultural influence in the country. State media in Pyongyang are urging young people in the North to stop using South Korean slang, listening to South Korean bands and adopting southern hair and fashion styles.
Read MoreJean Lee joins Anthony Ruggiero and host Liz Kim on Voice of America’s Washington Talk weekly TV show to discuss North Korea’s recent report to the United Nations on its food shortages and sustainability goals.
Read More“North Korea never likes to admit that they need the help because they’ve painted this picture that they can do everything on their own. So in order to set the stage for future engagement or acceptance of aid, in some ways they have to transition into acknowledging or painting a picture of why they might take this step.”
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“The North Koreans like to play hard to get,” said Jean Lee, a North Korea expert at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. “They’re making it clear they won’t be easily wooed, and that it will take more commitment — or concessions — from Washington before they return to negotiations.
“It’s a diplomatic dance, and these are the first steps,” Lee added.
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“Almost a perfect crime.” The hacking ring and an attempt to steal a billion dollars. Investigators blame North Korea. Pyongyang denies involvement. The story begins in Hollywood.
Read MoreHere & Now's Jane Clayson speaks with Jean Lee, director of the Korea Center at the Wilson Center.
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Exclusive interviews and intimate archival information give a look at Kim Jong Un's life and reign.
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