Myung-jin Han with Nicolas Levi, "I Was a North Korean Diplomat: Inside the Secret World of Pyongyang's Foreign Service" (Independently Published, 2026)
About this episode
Nicolas Levi discusses his book on the experiences of a former North Korean diplomat, providing insights into the elite's life and the workings of the North Korean state.
Nicolas Levi is a researcher at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He has authored numerous books related to North Korea and is a regular commentator on the country’s elite social and political structures. I Was a North Korean Diplomat: Inside the Secret World of Pyongyang's Foreign Service (Independently Published, 2026) is Levi’s tenth book, a collaborative work based on extensive dialogues with Han Jin-myung (a pseudonym), a former member of the North Korean elite who served in a specialized military drone unit and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before defecting in 2015. The book provides a rare, ground-level look at the life of the North Korean upper class, tracing Han’s journey from a privileged childhood in Pyongyang to the high-pressure world of international diplomacy and illicit regime fundraising in Southeast Asia. Through Han’s testimony, the book explores the psychological realities of loyalty, the "golden cage" of the North Korean elite, and the climate of fear following the 2013 execution of Jang Song-thaek, offering readers a unique perspective on the inner workings of the North Korean state. Anthony Kao is a…
People in this episode
Guest: Nicolas Levi
Topics covered
- North Korea
- diplomacy
- defection
- elite social structures
- psychological realities
Keywords
- North Korea
- diplomat
- defection
- foreign service
- elite
- psychological realities
- international diplomacy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Books & works: I Was a North Korean Diplomat: Inside the Secret World of Pyongyang's Foreign Service
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