Breaking through US propaganda on North Korea

A recent Washington Post article titled “A North Korean defector captivated U.S. media. Some question her story” highlights the many appearances Yeonmi Park has made on right-wing news outlets over the past few years. Scholars and solidarity activists have been pointing out the serious holes in Park’s stories since she started getting attention. But even the Post has pushed her propaganda, running an op-ed by her in 2014 that they admit was co-written with a fellow at the Koch-founded right-wing Atlas Network, calling for a capitalist counterrevolution in the country. Park is part of a long tradition of outright US lies about North Korea, which it is still at war with.

To get deeper into the history, we’re joined by Derek Ford. He's an author, visiting professor at Korea University in Tokyo, and organizer with the Global Peace forum on Korea. He also led the last delegation of US citizens to the DPRK before the travel ban.