Edward Howell

Edward Howell is a politics lecturer at Oxford. He was involved in launching the BBC World Service in North Korea.

Does Kim Jong-un want the ‘dotard’ or the ‘snob’ to win?

Donald Trump has made plenty of enemies in his time as president, but as the US president himself has claimed, he also gained an unlikely friend: Kim Jong-un. North Korea will be watching the result of next week’s US election closely. But would Pyongyang prefer four more years of an impulsive Trump, or a new Biden administration in

Kim Yo Jong’s growing role is bad news for peace in Korea

The halcyon days of 2018 seem very distant. Two years ago, North Korea sent a delegation to the Pyeongchang winter Olympics; three summits took place between the leaders of the two Koreas; president Trump and Kim Jong-un wined, dined, and produced what John Bolton terms – in his latest book – a ‘substance-free communiqué’ in

What’s the truth about coronavirus and North Korea?

South Korea is one of the world’s success stories for tackling coronavirus and president Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings have soared to a high of 71 per cent as a result. Yet North Korea has still claimed victory over its South Korean rival when it comes to dealing with this disease. According to the highly secretive regime-state, there