The dictator, eager to shut out the influence of Hollywood and K-pop, has been exalting a “shock brigade” of 300,000 teens ...

The report highlights Kim’s concern over foreign media, which provide rare glimpses into the outside world through K-pop ...

Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard. Me standing on the Paektu-gowon plateau in front of Paektusan mountain in July 2012. Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.

That is why Kim has handed a central propaganda role of late to the Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade. Named for the country’s sacred mountain, the group of teenagers and 20-somethings has been ...