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The New NK Pro

When you're working on the frontlines of the North Korea portfolio, you need far more than news coverage alone.

WHO WE SERVE

North Korea professionals need more than news

Building on the strong news gathering reputation of NK News, we fuse decades of overall staff experience with cutting-edge technologies to provide NK Pro subscribers the very best knowledge and tools to achieve their North Korea-related goals.

Pro analysis

Pro news & investigation

Pro research tools

Unique expertise

Research Tools & Databases

Gain instant and hassle-free access to proprietary and open source data, directories, databases, and more.

Research Tools

Databases

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The New NK Pro

When you're working on the frontlines of the North Korea portfolio, you need far more than news coverage alone.

See how NK Pro can help your work

The NK Pro Marine Tracker comprises a fleet of hundreds of vessels owned or linked to the DPRK, with regular efforts made to ensure the database stays up-to-date.

The NK Pro Leadership Tracker is a database which includes bios on key figures and their historical appearance / activity data.

A regularly updated database of North Korea missile launches, technical information on missile types, geolocation data & more.

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The NK Pro Company Database is the most exhaustive and regularly updated business directory to focus exclusively on the DPRK.

KCNA Watch is the world's most comprehensive, up-to-date and searchable repository of North Korean state media.

Our NK Specialists Directory lets you find specialists, practitioners and experts by name, affiliation, or topics of expertise.

While a reputation for opaqueness makes the DPRK ‘unknowable’ to many, there is now more information than ever circulating about the country. 

But identifying the key signals – where one statement, leadership change, or weapons test can change the course of the future – is becoming more challenging by the day. 

NK Pro cuts through this growing noise to serve those needing quality, reliability and timeliness the most: the people on the frontlines of policy, business and research.

The Aviation Tracker

The Aviation Tracker tracks commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The world’s only North Korea-specific tool for observing flights going into and out of the DPRK.

Track commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The Aviation Tracker is designed to help you measure the North’s economic activities--especially the transportation of sanctioned materials--as well as understand shifting trends in tourism, and visualize North Korea’s diplomatic relations.

Using radio technology, visual sightings and other open sources, the NK Pro Aviation Tracker provides comprehensive information on the movement of aircraft to, from and within North Korea. Based on historical data going back to 1970, our flight data comes from a unique combination of three sources aggregated in a way not used anywhere else.

Some examples of how you can use the tracker:

  • Kim Jong Un’s bodyguards arrive in Hanoi on Air Koryo IL-76 cargo plane
  • In unusual move, five Air Koryo planes head to Vladivostok on Monday
  • U.S.A.F. cargo plane left Pyongyang on Saturday morning, flight purpose unknown
  • Amid increased sanctions, Air Koryo flights decreased by 22% in 2017: data
  • Orascom private jet pays unreported trip to North Korea

The ultimate resource for professionals working on North Korea

Inquire about access today

Products like our "North Korea: A Month in Review" help specialists and newcomers to the subject alike stay up-to-date with important developments.

  • Tracks the public appearance of senior North Korean elites alongside either Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il or Kim Il Sung since 1994
  • Detect changes in economic priorities and policy changes
  • Access individual biographies of nearly 500 elites
  • Map out visits.

Tracking elite appearances can provide useful clues about North Korean policy and the positioning of senior figures within the regime.

How our clients use it:

Gov / Military: Gain rapid-fire access to leaders’ biographies and historical data to guide internal briefings prior to meetings with DPRK officials. This includes leaders’ resumes, developments in their career and rank.

Corporate Sector: Both in terms of identifying key economic officials, emerging economic areas of priority.

Academia: Research on changing priorities and trends in leadership.

News and media: Understand changes in leadership after a major reshuffle and cross reference data to verify possible purges. Quickly identify information about key figures and who they meet.

NGOs: Gain rapid-fire access to leaders’ biographies and historical data to guide internal briefings prior to meetings with DPRK officials.

NK Pro is dedicated to getting professionals the exact information they need to make decisions related to North Korea as quickly and confidently as possible. 

Building on the strong newsgathering reputation of NK News, we fuse decades of overall staff experience with cutting-edge technologies to provide NK Pro subscribers the very best knowledge and tools to achieve their North Korea-related goals. 

At our core is a team of journalists and analysts who focus exclusively on North Korea, from a wide range of specialist backgrounds. Able to spot the nuances which can have the biggest impact, we build on their insights with custom-designed tools to save time, connect the dots, and provide you first access to play-by-play developments. 

In a world where qualified and objective understanding of North Korea is hard to come by, NK Pro provides an unrivaled foundation for professionals to solve complex problems and identify meaningful new opportunities.

Whether you need insights into the latest leadership reshuffle, on policy changes emerging from a New Year’s speech, or the implications of the latest U.S.-DPRK summit meeting, you will always find it in NK Pro analysis.

We’re event-driven: You can expect rapid-fire and in-depth analysis on breaking news events such as summits, weapons tests, bombshell reports and statements quicker than our competitors to keep you well-prepared for your next briefing. 

We’re trend-driven: Our proactive analysts also read between the lines to identify new trends and issues of importance. We flag these for you, as and when they emerge, across a diverse range of issues.

With NK Pro News, We bring together the latest developments in the political, business, legal and infrastructure sectors, written by leading journalists in the North Korea field. We specialize in primary source-driven news and analysis, relying heavily on informed sources, data forex, and satellite imagery.

Pro Analysis & News

About NK Pro

Inquire about access today

The Aviation Tracker

The Aviation Tracker tracks commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The world’s only North Korea-specific tool for observing flights going into and out of the DPRK.

Track commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The Aviation Tracker is designed to help you measure the North’s economic activities--especially the transportation of sanctioned materials--as well as understand shifting trends in tourism, and visualize North Korea’s diplomatic relations.

Using radio technology, visual sightings and other open sources, the NK Pro Aviation Tracker provides comprehensive information on the movement of aircraft to, from and within North Korea. Based on historical data going back to 1970, our flight data comes from a unique combination of three sources aggregated in a way not used anywhere else.

Some examples of how you can use the tracker:

  • Kim Jong Un’s bodyguards arrive in Hanoi on Air Koryo IL-76 cargo plane
  • In unusual move, five Air Koryo planes head to Vladivostok on Monday
  • U.S.A.F. cargo plane left Pyongyang on Saturday morning, flight purpose unknown
  • Amid increased sanctions, Air Koryo flights decreased by 22% in 2017: data
  • Orascom private jet pays unreported trip to North Korea

What our users think

Inquire about access today

LTG Chun In-bum

Former deputy commander for the First ROK Army

"When you have too much information and when information is conflicting, the ground truth is the deciding factor. NK Pro provides its subscribers with that ground truth. I have referred to NK Pro for its unique services in search of the ground truth concerning North Korea and Northeast Asian security, economics and social issues."

Randall Spadoni

DPRK Program Director, World Vision

"NK Pro gives us both the real-time updates and the in-depth analysis we need to provide effective humanitarian assistance in North Korea. Our operating environment is constantly changing, and we need to make quick adjustments based on timely, accurate information. NK Pro provides us tools to analyze and act. There’s no better resource out there."

Georgy Toloraya

Current member at the UN Panel of Experts

NK Pro is the most comprehensive and accurate source of information and analysis on North Korea (in English, at least) seen by me during my 40-odd years of professionally dealing with Korean issues. I use it for everyday work as a reliable tool and became addicted!”

Former Businessperson

Expat in DPRK with years of experience

“I did business in the DPRK for many years, during which time I got to know the place pretty well, and although I stopped some years ago, I still like to keep abreast of developments. In my opinion NK Pro provides accurate and timely reporting drawing on the work of genuine experts, which means I can ignore everything else”

William Newcomb

Former member of the UN Panel of Experts

"As someone who has followed and assessed developments in North Korea for many years I can not recollect a time in the past few decades when interest was higher. News coverage has expanded exponentially but quantity is no substitute for quality. I have found NK Pro to be the best source for keeping me current on events as well as in assisting my research."

Barbara Demick

Former LA Times chief, Seoul

"NK News is essential reading for any journalist covering North Korea. I don’t know anybody seriously writing about North Korea who doesn’t read it."

Geoffrey See

Founder, Choson Exchange

"In the 11 years of work training over 2000 North Koreans in economic policy, business, entrepreneurship and infrastructure, I have depended on NK Pro as a rare source of reliable news on an issue plagued by agendas, misinformation, and rumors.”

John Everard

Former UK Ambassador to North Korea

“Ever since it began NK News has been part of my essential daily reading on North Korea. It has provided consistently prompt and accurate information on events in and around the country, often shining a light on areas that other media miss. It has become a primary source of information for the North Korea watching community.”

Martin Uden

Former Coordinator, UN Panel of Experts

"The Panel found that being able to have access to NK News’s regular reporting, its specialized offerings and its staff added greatly to our effectiveness. They were all models of clarity, independence and probity, and helped us by often providing context and corroboration for our own information.”

Thomas Fisler

Former SDC Director of Cooperation, Pyongyang

NK Pro has been able to provide me an insight with in-depth, accurate quality information beyond my scope and made me to follow up certain thematic topics which otherwise I would not have been able to follow up and gain a profound view while being resident in the DPRK."

About NK Pro

Pro Analysis & News

Martin Uden

Former Coordinator, UN Panel of Experts

"The Panel found that being able to have access to NK News’s regular reporting, its specialized offerings and its staff added greatly to our effectiveness. They were all models of clarity, independence and probity, and helped us by often providing context and corroboration for our own information.”

Thomas Fisler

NK Pro has been able to provide me an insight with in-depth, accurate quality information beyond my scope and made me to follow up certain thematic topics which otherwise I would not have been able to follow up and gain a profound view while being resident in the DPRK."

Former SDC Director of Cooperation, Pyongyang

John Everard

Former UK Ambassador to North Korea

“Ever since it began NK News has been part of my essential daily reading on North Korea. It has provided consistently prompt and accurate information on events in and around the country, often shining a light on areas that other media miss. It has become a primary source of information for the North Korea watching community.”

Geoffrey See

Founder, Choson Exchange

"In the 11 years of work training over 2000 North Koreans in economic policy, business, entrepreneurship and infrastructure, I have depended on NK Pro as a rare source of reliable news on an issue plagued by agendas, misinformation, and rumors.”

Barbara Demick

Former LA Times chief, Seoul

"NK News is essential reading for any journalist covering North Korea. I don’t know anybody seriously writing about North Korea who doesn’t read it."

William Newcomb

Former member of the UN Panel of Experts

"As someone who has followed and assessed developments in North Korea for many years I can not recollect a time in the past few decades when interest was higher. News coverage has expanded exponentially but quantity is no substitute for quality. I have found NK Pro to be the best source for keeping me current on events as well as in assisting my research."

Former Businessperson

Expat in DPRK with years of experience

“I did business in the DPRK for many years, during which time I got to know the place pretty well, and although I stopped some years ago, I still like to keep abreast of developments. In my opinion NK Pro provides accurate and timely reporting drawing on the work of genuine experts, which means I can ignore everything else”

Georgy Toloraya

Current member at the UN Panel of Experts

NK Pro is the most comprehensive and accurate source of information and analysis on North Korea (in English, at least) seen by me during my 40-odd years of professionally dealing with Korean issues. I use it for everyday work as a reliable tool and became addicted!”

Randall Spadoni

DPRK Program Director, World Vision

NK Pro gives us both the real-time updates and the in-depth analysis we need to provide effective humanitarian assistance in North Korea. Our operating environment is constantly changing, and we need to make quick adjustments based on timely, accurate information. NK Pro provides us tools to analyze and act. There’s no better resource out there.

LTG Chun In-bum

Former deputy commander for the First ROK Army

"When you have too much information and when information is conflicting, the ground truth is the deciding factor. NK Pro provides its subscribers with that ground truth. I have referred to NK Pro for its unique services in search of the ground truth concerning North Korea and Northeast Asian security, economics and social issues."

PRODUCT TOUR:

OVERVIEWKCNA WATCHALERTS

NK Pro is dedicated to getting professionals the exact information they need to make decisions related to North Korea as quickly and confidently as possible. 

Building on the strong newsgathering reputation of NK News, we fuse decades of overall staff experience with cutting-edge technologies to provide NK Pro subscribers the very best knowledge and tools to achieve their North Korea-related goals. 

At our core is a team of journalists and analysts who focus exclusively on North Korea, from a wide range of specialist backgrounds. Able to spot the nuances which can have the biggest impact, we build on their insights with custom-designed tools to save time, connect the dots, and provide you first access to play-by-play developments. 

In a world where qualified and objective understanding of North Korea is hard to come by, NK Pro provides an unrivaled foundation for professionals to solve complex problems and identify meaningful new opportunities.

Whether you need insights into the latest leadership reshuffle, on policy changes emerging from a New Year’s speech, or the implications of the latest U.S.-DPRK summit meeting, you will always find it in NK Pro analysis.

We’re event-driven: You can expect rapid-fire and in-depth analysis on breaking news events such as summits, weapons tests, bombshell reports and statements quicker than our competitors to keep you well-prepared for your next briefing. 

We’re trend-driven: Our proactive analysts also read between the lines to identify new trends and issues of importance. We flag these for you, as and when they emerge, across a diverse range of issues.

With NK Pro News, We bring together the latest developments in the political, business, legal and infrastructure sectors, written by leading journalists in the North Korea field. We specialize in primary source-driven news and analysis, relying heavily on informed sources, data forex, and satellite imagery.

Use Cases

Research Tools

Databases

© 2019, Korea Risk Group (NK Consulting Inc.). All Rights Reserved

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Use Cases

Research Tools

Databases

Other features

About

The Aviation Tracker

The Aviation Tracker tracks commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The world’s only North Korea-specific tool for observing flights going into and out of the DPRK.

Track commercial flights to, from, and within North Korea.

The Aviation Tracker is designed to help you measure the North’s economic activities--especially the transportation of sanctioned materials--as well as understand shifting trends in tourism, and visualize North Korea’s diplomatic relations.

Using radio technology, visual sightings and other open sources, the NK Pro Aviation Tracker provides comprehensive information on the movement of aircraft to, from and within North Korea. Based on historical data going back to 1970, our flight data comes from a unique combination of three sources aggregated in a way not used anywhere else.

Some examples of how you can use the tracker:

  • Kim Jong Un’s bodyguards arrive in Hanoi on Air Koryo IL-76 cargo plane
  • In unusual move, five Air Koryo planes head to Vladivostok on Monday
  • U.S.A.F. cargo plane left Pyongyang on Saturday morning, flight purpose unknown
  • Amid increased sanctions, Air Koryo flights decreased by 22% in 2017: data
  • Orascom private jet pays unreported trip to North Korea

Meet our staff writers and contributors

Caroline Kearney, Analyst, NK Pro

Caroline writes the Month-in-Review feature for NK Pro, focusing on a comprehensive range of topics each month from an analytic perspective. She previously specialized working on NGO-focused peacebuilding and dialogue initiatives. 
Andrei Lankov, Director
 
Andrei Lankov writes exclusively for NK News and NK Pro as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University from 1984-5. 
Korea Risk Group offers a combination of unique staff perspectives and skillsets to understand the DPRK in a simply unrivaled manner. 

Staff include:
Jeongmin Kim, Seoul Correspondent
 
Jeongmin Kim is a correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. She previously worked for the CSIS Korea Chair and in the Seoul bureau of Reuters news agency. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim
Oliver Hotham, Managing Editor
 
Hotham has been involved with NK News since 2013, being promoted to Managing Editor in 2016. In addition to directing the strategy and day-to-day output of the NK Pro and NK News sites, Hotham regularly writes news, analys and investigations.
Regular contributors include:
Chun In-Bum
Fyodor Tertitskiy
Wang Son-taek
Kosuke Takahashi
Stephan Haggard
Tatiana Gabroussenko
Peter Ward, Contributing Analyst
 
Ward is one of the world's leading specialists on DPRK economic, agricultural and legislative issues. As a fluent Korean speaker who has visited the DPRK several times, Ward's niche-focus analysis is unmatched in the open-source.
Mintaro Oba, Analyst, NK Pro
 
Mintaro Oba is a former U.S. State Department official who handled inter-Korean relations, Korean unification and stability issues, and various aspects of U.S.-Korea alliance cooperation.  He specializes in analyzing U.S. policymaking and diplomacy.

Former deputy commander for the First ROK Army

Historian, Kookmin University

North Korea Specialist & Anchor, YTN

Jane's Defense, Tokyo

Political Economist, UCSD

Long-time NK News Contributor

Christopher Green, Analyst, NK Pro
 
Green is a contributing analyst based in the Netherlands, where he also serves as a lecturer at the University of Leiden. He formerly led the DPRK project at International Crisis Group (ICG) and the department of international affairs of the Daily NK.
Colin Zwirko, Correspondent & Imagery Analyst
 
Zwirko is a Seoul-based correspondent who focuses on a range of subjects including diplomatic affairs, DPRK infrastructure, and trade issues. Furthermore, he is a satellite imagery specialist and produces regular work in this area. 
Nils Weisensee, Director of News Operations
 
Nils brings together years of journalism experience with major international media, a North Korea skillset cultivated through an operations role with the Choson Exchange NGO, and business-smarts from his startup activities in Shanghai.
Min Hao Choy, Data Journalist
 
Min Chao Choy is a data journalist for NK News and NK Pro, currently based in Los Angeles, with a focus on shipping and aviation-related issues. She was previously at a news wire covering Asia/Oceania and Cybersecurity.
Chad O'Carroll, Founder & CEO
 
O'Carroll founded NK News, the genesis for NK Pro, in 2010 after visiting the DPRK as a tourist. Having worked at the UN, think tanks in Washington, DC, and written for multiple newspapers, Chad specializes in both writing news and analysis.