Russia envoy arrives, DPRK hackers strike and North Korean POWs reach ROK
North Korea News Podcast by NK NewsShow Notes
NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin and Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy join the podcast this week to discuss Russia’s new ambassador to North Korea, Pyongyang’s latest cyber operations and the growing dispute between Seoul and Kyiv over two North Korean prisoners of war.
Anton explains what the arrival of veteran diplomat Andrei Podelyshev signals about Moscow’s priorities in Pyongyang, how his lower-profile style may differ from longtime predecessor and why his first visits to Soviet and DPRK war memorials underscore the increasingly institutionalized relationship between the two countries.
Shreyas then breaks down North Korea’s suspected role in the year’s largest cryptocurrency heist so far, which saw roughly $352 million stolen from exchange Bitget and pushed estimated DPRK-linked crypto theft above $1 billion in 2026.
The episode concludes with a discussion on Ukraine’s transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea and the diplomatic fallout after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly revealed the move at the U.N. General Assembly. They also discuss what intelligence the soldiers can provide about North Korea’s deployment to Russia and what their resettlement in South Korea could look like after an unprecedented journey from the battlefield in Kursk.
About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Alannah Hill exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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Editor’s note: This interview was recorded in July 2026. Some references to recent events and political developments reflect the situation at the time of recording and may differ from subsequent developments.
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