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Andrei Lankov

Andrei Lankov

Could North Korea finally be enacting Chinese-style economic reforms?

January 8, 2015

SEOUL, South Korea — Is change brewing in North Korea, one of the world’s most totalitarian nations?At first glance, it would seem unlikely. For more than two decades, the fortress-like regime has evaded predictions of collapse and chaos, surviving war, famine, and economic ruin. It has mystified the world with its ability to stay put — despite its nuclear brinkmanship and naval skirmishes with neighbors.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Jan 8, 2015

North Korea is actually a surprisingly debauched place

November 26, 2014

SEOUL, South Korea — In North Korea, Americans caught committing mere peccadilloes — offenses that aren’t even crimes elsewhere — can expect little mercy from Kim Jong Un’s regime.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Nov 26, 2014

This badass Japanese politician is organizing a pro wrestling match in North Korea

August 12, 2014

SEOUL, South Korea — The muscular and imposing Antonio Inoki stands among Japan’s most revered former wrestlers, a WWE hall of famer who has settled into retirement as a member of the Japanese parliament.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Aug 12, 2014

North Korea appears to be making weapons-grade plutonium again. Should we be scared?

October 5, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — Earlier this year, North Korea tested its third underground nuclear device and then launched a flurry of war threats against the US and South Korea. The three months of tensions, from January to April 2013, are often called the “2013 North Korea crisis.”

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Oct 5, 2013

North Korea’s impending collapse: 3 grim scenarios

September 28, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — According to conventional wisdom, North Korea is headed for collapse. The only question is when. The answer: maybe sooner than we might expect.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Sep 28, 2013

New Cuban missile crisis? Why it’s no surprise that North Korea was caught in Panama

July 17, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea, as usual, looks menacing, but can’t seem to keep its black ops under wraps. On Wednesday, Cuba came forward as the culprit behind a stash of weapons bound for North Korea. Panamanian authorities uncovered the illicit cargo last week—hidden in a shipment of brown sugar.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Jul 17, 2013

Can you solve North Korean math?

April 24, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — I’m now reading an advance copy of Andrei Lankov’s upcoming book, “The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia,” due out from Oxford University Press on May 8.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Apr 24, 2013

Will a Korean conflict go nuclear?

April 11, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — Well, we don’t really know the answer. Last time there was a Korean War from 1950 to 1953, some historians say it nearly did go nuclear — although there’s disagreement over the extent President Harry Truman was willing to consider the Bomb based on vague public statements.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Apr 11, 2013

For South Korea’s first female president, a baptism by fire

March 16, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — From both sides of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hye, has gotten a baptism by fire since she took office on Feb. 25.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Mar 16, 2013

Kim Jong Un in the shadow of the Dear Leader?

February 15, 2013

SEOUL, South Korea — He was once thought to be a Swiss-educated cosmopolitan taking the side of reform in North Korea. But some say Tuesday’s nuclear test has squandered hopes that Kim Jong Un will open the militarized nation to the world.

By Geoffrey Cain
PRI’s The World

Feb 15, 2013

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Geoffrey Cain In The Media

How China Perfected the Surveillance State

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Geoffrey Cain on Investigative Journalism, Authoritarian Power, and The Perfect Police State | In a wide-ranging conversation with Jennifer Grossman, CEO of The Atlas Society, investigative journalist Geoffrey Cain reflects on years spent reporting inside some of the world’s most restrictive regimes — and on the research behind his book The Perfect Police State: An Undercover Odyssey into China’s Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future.

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Thanks to AI, Apple’s China problem is only getting worse

February 21, 2025

For years, Tim Cook insisted Apple could change China from the inside. Instead, China changed Apple.
The latest evidence? Apple spent billions developing cutting-edge electric vehicle battery technology with Chinese automaker BYD, only to watch its innovations become the cornerstone of BYD’s rise to global electric vehicle dominance. Apple walked away with nothing. China walked away with everything.
This isn’t just another story about corporate research and development gone wrong. It’s a cautionary tale about how even America’s most valuable company has become trapped in China’s web of technological control — and how that web is about to tighten even further.