BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S2 Special: The Biggest Heist Yet →

August 25, 2025

$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.

AP: Tides of the Times Divide, Then Unite Korean Family

July 2, 2025

For years, Wang described himself as an orphan. Privately, to his wife, he spoke often of the 13-year-old sister he left behind, the sweet girl who went sledding with him over frozen rice fields.

“She was the only girl in the family--she was everybody’s princess, especially mine. But I had no way of knowing if she was still alive.”

BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S2, Ep 2: Big Boss

April 8, 2023

The hackers turn to the dark web and enlist an eager new recruit. “Big Boss” is key to the ATM heist but who is he?

Meanwhile, the police in India continue to investigate and make arrests.

#LazarusHeist

Click here for the episode page on the BBC World Service website. You can find all episodes on the Lazarus Heist homepage.

BBC: Lazarus Heist: The intercontinental ATM theft that netted $14m in two hours →

April 4, 2023

It was an audacious crime characterised by its grand scale and meticulous synchronisation. Criminals had plundered ATMs in 28 different countries, including the United States, the UK, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. It all happened in the space of just two hours and 13 minutes - an extraordinary global flash mob of crime.

BBC: The Lazarus Heist: S2, Ep 1: Jackpotting →

March 27, 2023

Millions of dollars are stolen from ATMs at the same time in 28 countries. An army of money mules stuff the cash into bags. Do they know who they are really working for? In just over two hours, the thieves take nearly $14 million - all from the accounts of Cosmos Bank in India.

BBC: The Lazarus Heist →

March 26, 2023

Download all episodes of The Lazarus Heist, watch Lazarus Heist animations, read our feature story about the hackers and view visualizations of the podcast episodes on Lazarus Heist homepage on the BBC World Service website!

BBC: The Lazarus Heist: Season 2 trailer →

March 10, 2023

The hackers are back – and they are accused of being more dangerous than ever. Their cyber-attacks are getting more sophisticated and audacious. It’s claimed they are getting away with billions. North Korea denies everything.

Four people sit on chairs on a stage — Jean Lee, co-host of the BBC World Service’s Lazarus Heist podcast, takes part in a live show in New York City in September 2022 to launch Season 2 alongside co-host Geoff White, singer and podcaster Dessa, and cybersecurity expert Michael Barnhart of Mandiant.

BBC: The Lazarus Heist - LIVE! →

September 20, 2022

Lazarus Heist live

A special episode recorded in front of an audience in New York. What’s it like working in North Korea? How are hackers tracked in real time? #LazarusHeist

New York Times Opinion: There’s a Reason Kim Jong-un Wants Us to Know About North Korea’s Covid Outbreak →

June 8, 2022

It’s a frightening prospect for an unvaccinated, undernourished nation of 25 million people. But bad news does not escape North Korea without a reason. Finally acknowledging a viral outbreak may be part of a strategy by its leader, Kim Jong-un, to re-engage with the outside world. The world should be ready to engage, too.

New York Times Opinion: Kim Jong-un Is Just Getting Started →

March 14, 2022

If it seems as if North Korea wants us to sit up and pay attention — Don’t forget, we’re still building missiles and nuclear weapons! — that’s certainly one of its objectives.

But these tests are about a lot more.

Mar 26, 2023

BBC: The Lazarus Heist

Mar 10, 2023

BBC: The Lazarus Heist: Season 2 trailer

Sep 20, 2022

BBC: The Lazarus Heist - LIVE!

Apr 18, 2021

BBC: The Lazarus Heist, S1, Ep1: Hacking Hollywood

A movie, Kim Jong-un and a devastating cyber attack. The story of the Sony hack. How the Lazarus Group hackers caused mayhem in Hollywood and for Sony Pictures Entertainment. And this is just the beginning…

Aug 11, 2017

New York Times Op-Ed: Donald Trump is giving North Korea exactly what it wants

If President Trump thinks that his threats last week of “fire and fury” and weapons “locked and loaded” have North Koreans quaking in their boots, he should think again. If anything, the Mao-suit-clad cadres in Pyongyang are probably gleeful that the president of the United States has played straight into their propaganda.

Aug 10, 2017

Esquire: Inside Kim Jong Un's bloody scramble to kill off his family

While Kim Jong Un stares down his enemies abroad, it's easy to forget that he's also fighting a battle from within his own borders: to survive at all costs. Like any autocratic leader, he's under constant pressure to maintain order and allegiance. But his youth and inexperience make staying in power that much more of a challenge, which in turn requires absolute control. Opposition must be eliminated. No one is safe, not even his own family.

Feb 24, 2017

New York Times Op-Ed: North Korea's Palace Intrigue

After the 14th-century Korean ruler Taejo, founder of the Joseon dynasty, chose the youngest of his eight sons to succeed him, a spurned son killed the heir apparent and at least one of his other half brothers and eventually rose to the throne. Today, rumors of royal fratricide are again swirling, this time around the court of Kim Jong-un, the ruler of North Korea.

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Middle school students work on a computer in front of a poster of North Korea's rockets and satellites behind them in this photo taken in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Oct. 24, 2011. (Photo credit: Jean H. Lee)

Jan 7, 2016

New York Times Magazine: Kim Jong Un's Generational Ambitions

It was party time in Pyongyang. Workers scrambled to hang congratulatory banners in the lobby of the Koryo Hotel, my home away from home in the North Korean capital, where I was posted as an Associated Press correspondent. A gaggle of cooks, still in aprons and chef’s hats, dashed out from the kitchen to watch the festivities, and mothers tightened the pink bows in their daughters’ hair as the girls fidgeted in anticipation.

Jul 20, 2013

AP: Vet Returns to North Korea for 1st Black Navy Aviator

Two years after he made history by becoming the Navy's first black pilot, Ensign Jesse Brown lay trapped in his downed fighter plane in subfreezing North Korea, his leg broken and bleeding. His wingman crash-landed to try to save him, and even burned his hands trying to put out the flames.

Apr 29, 2013

AP: Pyongyang Glitters, but Rest of North Korea Still Dark

A year after leader Kim Jong Un promised in a speech to bring an end to the "era of belt-tightening" and economic hardship in North Korea, the gap between the haves and have-nots has only grown with Pyongyang's transformation.

Sep 24, 2012

AP: Sweeping New Changes Expected at North Korean Farms

North Korean farmers who have long been required to turn most of their crops over to the state may now be allowed to keep their surplus food to sell or barter in what could be the most significant economic change enacted by young leader Kim Jong Un since he came to power nine months ago.

Jul 12, 2012

AP: Ex-North Korean Star Recalls 'Ping Pong Diplomacy'

Her eyes well up when Li Pun Hui recalls her role in a historic example of "ping pong diplomacy."

"For 50 days, 24 hours a day, we lived together as one, trained together, slept in the same room and ate all our meals together," Li told The Associated Press at an interview in Pyongyang. "We shared the same food and our feelings."

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