Chad O'Carroll's Avatar

Chad O'Carroll

@chadocl.bsky.social

Founder of NK News/NK Pro and Korea Risk Group. From London, based in Seoul. Drum and bass music aficionado.

2,746 Followers  |  139 Following  |  3,219 Posts  |  Joined: 22.08.2023  |  1.6963

Latest posts by chadocl.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Seoul cannot achieve peace with North Korea by waiting on US ‘approval’: Chung South Korea cannot achieve peace with North Korea by waiting on “approval and clearance from the U.S.,” Seoul’s unification ministry said Tuesday, promoting the merits of unilateral action. Speaking at a seminar in Seoul, Chung Dong-young recalled that the progressive Kim Dae-jung administration (1998-2003) went ahead with South Korean tours to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang […]
25.11.2025 10:28 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Seoul floats scaling back US-ROK drills, and proposes talks with North Korea This week, NK News correspondent Joon Ha Park joins the podcast to recap a week’s worth of news from Seoul and Pyongyang, starting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s comments about potentially scaling back joint military exercises with the U.S. to support diplomacy with North Korea. He talks about how previous progressive governments, such as […]
25.11.2025 09:30 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Ask a North Korean: How does North Korea fight forest fires? “Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years. Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing ask@nknews.org and including their first name and city of residence. Today’s question is about forest fires in […]
25.11.2025 08:33 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Lee calls broadcasting info to North Korea ‘foolish’ since everything’s online South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday dismissed broadcasts aimed at delivering uncensored media to the North Korean people as “foolish acts” that bring no benefit, stating that information is already widely available online. But defectors sharply criticized the remarks for ignoring that the vast majority of DPRK citizens cannot access the internet due to […]
25.11.2025 08:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Japan-China tensions exposes limits of South Korea’s fragile thaw with Tokyo Japan-China relations have entered an adversarial phase following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan earlier this month, exposing the limits of the recent ROK-Japan rapprochement by stripping away the diplomatic theater that has concealed unresolved mistrust. During a budget committee hearing on Nov. 7, Takaichi said that the use of military force by China […] The post Japan-China tensions exposes limits of South Korea’s fragile thaw with Tokyo appeared first on Korea Pro.
25.11.2025 07:35 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korea allowing select Chinese merchants to visit border city of Rason A small number of Chinese businesspeople have gained access to North Korea’s Rason Special Economic Zone in recent months, according to NK News analysis, a sign that Pyongyang is selectively accepting Chinese investment in the zone even as broader border restrictions remain in place. Multiple videos posted on Douyin (TikTok) since September show Chinese businesspeople […]
25.11.2025 03:45 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
National Pension Service moves to enforce tougher safety criteria in South Korea South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) Fund Management Committee approved on Monday a proposal to increase next year’s pension benefit expenditure budget by $846.2 million (1.25 trillion won), according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The adjustment raises the allocation for benefit payments — the amount reserved to distribute pension benefits to recipients — […] The post National Pension Service moves to enforce tougher safety criteria in South Korea appeared first on Korea Pro.
24.11.2025 23:59 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Lee says Seoul could scale back drills with US to support North Korea talks President Lee Jae-myung said South Korea could consider scaling back or postponing joint military exercises with the U.S. on Monday, but only as part of broader efforts to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Lee emphasized that “North Korea is highly sensitive” to such exercises, speaking to reporters during an in-flight press conference en route […]
24.11.2025 10:40 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Lee Jae-myung promotes his push for peace with North Korea at G20 South Korean President Lee Jae-myung highlighted his hopes for reunification of the Korean Peninsula on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in South Africa over the weekend, despite North Korea’s silence on his recent overtures and continued weapons testing. Lee explained his unification policy to the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Turkish […]
24.11.2025 10:40 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Defense cooperation falters as Seoul and Tokyo clash over symbolic sovereignty Tokyo’s recent decision to block refueling support for the ROK Air Force’s Black Eagles and Seoul’s decision to postpone a joint naval search and rescue drill scheduled later this month reveal the structural fragility of ROK-Japan defense cooperation. The episode exposes how vulnerable the relationship remains to nationalist triggers at a moment when the strategic […] The post Defense cooperation falters as Seoul and Tokyo clash over symbolic sovereignty appeared first on Korea Pro.
24.11.2025 09:42 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korean, Russian cybercriminals join forces for first time: Report North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group appears to be working alongside the Russian intelligence-linked threat actor Gamaredon, marking “the first known case of Russian-North Korean cyber collaboration in the wild,” according to researchers. The two groups “may be operating on shared infrastructure,” the U.S.-Czech cybersecurity firm Gen Digital wrote in a recent report, suggesting the discovery […]
24.11.2025 08:45 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
China erects giant triumphal arch at unopened border bridge to North Korea China has built a large new symbolic gate resembling a triumphal arch at a new border bridge to North Korea, part of local authorities’ efforts to finally start using the bridge to boost trade over six years after it was built. The Tumen government reported in September that the new Tumen Highway Port gate measures […]
24.11.2025 07:49 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korea sends farming experts to Russia amid push to boost crop production A team of North Korean agriculture experts is visiting Russia this week, in what appears to be Pyongyang’s latest attempt to glean information for boosting crop yields. The “working-level” delegation led by Kim Kwang Uk, president of the DPRK Academy of Agricultural Sciences, departed for Russia on Friday, the Korean Central News Agency wrote in […]
24.11.2025 07:49 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korean power plant suffered catastrophic failure before opening A new North Korean hydroelectric power plant that was set to go online suffered a catastrophic failure earlier this year, NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery shows, requiring months of repairs and dealing a blow to state efforts to address persistent electricity shortages. DPRK state television reported in Nov. 2024 that the Tanchon Power Station […] The post North Korean power plant suffered catastrophic failure before opening appeared first on NK PRO.
24.11.2025 04:58 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1
Preview
South Korea stakes new Middle East strategy on Cairo summit and SHINE initiative South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held summit talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday, signing three cooperation agreements covering education, culture and digital government and announcing a new Middle East diplomatic initiative called SHINE, the presidential office said on Friday. The meeting lasted four-and-a-half hours, exceeding the planned schedule, and marked […] The post South Korea stakes new Middle East strategy on Cairo summit and SHINE initiative appeared first on Korea Pro.
23.11.2025 23:15 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Chinese expert details new law that has fueled North Korea’s private car boom A new North Korean law on private car ownership appears to be driving Pyongyang’s automobile boom, according to a Chinese scholar, detailing provisions that point to an effort to encourage consumption without creating a private vehicle market outside state control. The sale of private cars began in February after revisions to the Private Car Utilization […]
21.11.2025 10:21 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korean hackers target AI and crypto job seekers through fake job sites North Korea’s cyber operatives have unveiled one of their most convincing traps yet: a phony job-application site that mimics top artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency recruiters to dupe industry professionals into downloading malware. As part of the Contagious Interview campaign, North Korean actors used the counterfeit job board to deceive developers, artificial intelligence researchers, cryptocurrency […] The post North Korean hackers target AI and crypto job seekers through fake job sites appeared first on NK PRO.
21.11.2025 10:15 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korea marks Mother’s Day by praising those who raise kids for the state North Korea marked Mother’s Day this week by claiming that the country’s women enjoy privileged lives unlike their counterparts in capitalist countries, while pushing the message that women should devote themselves to becoming mothers and live in service to the state. A long-term prisoner in South Korea who was allowed to return to the North […] The post North Korea marks Mother’s Day by praising those who raise kids for the state appeared first on NK PRO.
21.11.2025 09:18 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Kim Jong Un opens new power station aimed at fixing rural ‘electricity problem’ North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened a new power station on Thursday aimed at solving the ongoing “electricity problem” in the country’s southeast, according to state media, eight years after construction on the minor project started. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday that the Hoeyang Army-People Power Station will help write “a […]
21.11.2025 08:27 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
17 South Koreans referred to prosecutors for sending leaflets toward North Korea Seventeen South Koreans have referred to prosecutors for allegedly floating over a thousand balloons carrying anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets and Bibles toward the DPRK last year, according to ROK police. The South Korean allegedly violated the Aviation Safety Act by sending 1,025 balloons from the border areas of Yeoncheon, Paju, Gimpo and Cheorwon using high-pressure […]
21.11.2025 08:27 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Chinese firm’s donation may be behind new ventilators at North Korean hospitals A Chinese manufacturer of life-support machines donated over a million dollars worth of medical equipment to North Korea earlier this year, possibly explaining how its ventilators ended up in recently opened DPRK hospitals, NK News analysis suggests. The China Asia Economic Development Association (CAEDA) and its member companies donated 12 million yuan ($1.68 million) worth […]
21.11.2025 07:30 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
US-ROK defense deal, AI chip hierarchy and Lone Star fallout — Ep. 107 In this episode of The Korea Pro Podcast, John and Joon Ha unpack the sweeping implications of the U.S.-ROK joint fact sheet released after the Security Consultative Meeting — including Seoul’s $33 billion commitment to support U.S. Forces Korea, $25 billion in U.S. weapons purchases and the formalization of approval for South Korean nuclear-powered attack […] The post US-ROK defense deal, AI chip hierarchy and Lone Star fallout — Ep. 107 appeared first on Korea Pro.
21.11.2025 04:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
ROK military says it responded to North Korean ‘armistice violation’ in DMZ The South Korean military said it responded to a North Korean “violation of the Armistice Agreement” in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), following reports of an intrusion on Thursday. The ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed to NK News on Friday its forces “took action in accordance with prescribed procedures after North Korean troops committed […]
21.11.2025 03:42 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Nuclear submarines force issue of how far Seoul publicly aligns with US goals Acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim and Admiral Daryl Caudle publicly linked the ROK’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines to countering China this week, explicitly setting expectations for alignment with American goals in a way that could limit Seoul’s room to maneuver with Beijing. On the one hand, the U.S. officials’ remarks simply acknowledged […] The post Nuclear submarines force issue of how far Seoul publicly aligns with US goals appeared first on Korea Pro.
21.11.2025 03:36 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
South Korean won slides as dollar demand and yen volatility intensify The South Korean won traded around 1,467.9 won to the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m. (KST) on Thursday, registering a modest rise from around 1,465.6. According to market‐data flows, the currency reached intraday highs near the high 1,460s, continuing its trajectory toward levels last seen seven months ago. Analysts cite the primary drivers of […] The post South Korean won slides as dollar demand and yen volatility intensify appeared first on Korea Pro.
20.11.2025 23:47 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Elizabeth Campbell: Behind the scenes of North Korea’s Hollywood dreams Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, a visiting scholar at Korea University’s Research Institute of Korean Studies, joins the podcast to discuss all things North Korean film — from former leader Kim Jong Il’s love of foreign cinema to what is arguably the country’s most famous movie, “The Flower Girl.” She sheds light on the second Kim leader’s […]
20.11.2025 10:36 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
US approval of AI chip exports to Gulf states creates new risks for South Korea The U.S. Commerce Department’s decision on Wednesday to grant conditional authorization for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to acquire Nvidia’s Blackwell chips signals a shift in how Washington allocates advanced artificial intelligence (AI) hardware capacity among partners, introducing new risks for South Korea. The approval removes short-term uncertainty over whether the U.S. […] The post US approval of AI chip exports to Gulf states creates new risks for South Korea appeared first on Korea Pro.
20.11.2025 08:36 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
North Korea imported X-ray, CT machines from China ahead of hospital openings North Korea exported over $150,000 worth of sanctioned iron and seafood products to China in October while bringing in more medical tech like X-rays and CT machines ahead of recent hospital openings, NK Pro analysis of trade data reveals. The new release of trade statistics by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) comes as Beijing […] The post North Korea imported X-ray, CT machines from China ahead of hospital openings appeared first on NK PRO.
20.11.2025 08:36 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
UN committee adopts resolution on North Korean human rights with US support A U.N. committee has approved a resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses, with 61 countries including the U.S. and South Korea sponsoring it, the ROK foreign ministry said Thursday. The U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee adopted the resolution by consensus, and it is scheduled to be finalized at the General Assembly plenary session in […]
20.11.2025 07:45 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
US senators sound alarm over alleged sale of Trump-backed crypto to North Korea Two U.S. senators have called for a probe into alleged links between North Korean cybercriminals and a cryptocurrency firm tied to President Donald Trump’s family, raising security concerns about the sale of virtual tokens to actors connected to Washington’s “enemies.” In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, […]
20.11.2025 06:48 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

@chadocl is following 20 prominent accounts