Benjamin R. Young
@dubstepindprk.bsky.social
North Korea analyst, prof of security studies & researcher of dictatorships. Wrote a book in 2021 on 🇰🇵-3rd World ties. Most importantly: dad & husband. Views my own.
https://benjaminryoung.weebly.com/
https://benjaminryoung.weebly.com/
Reposted by Benjamin R. Young
Inside North Korea’s Hidden Global Power
Explore North Korea’s surprising global influence, from Africa to Latin America, and its unexpected ties with historic movements and leaders.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Explore North Korea’s surprising global influence, from Africa to Latin America, and its unexpected ties with historic movements and leaders.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Inside North Korea’s Hidden Global Power | From Arica to Malcolm X, Black Panthers and Latin America
YouTube video by Dr Lokman Karadag
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Inside North Korea’s Hidden Global Power
Explore North Korea’s surprising global influence, from Africa to Latin America, and its unexpected ties with historic movements and leaders.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Explore North Korea’s surprising global influence, from Africa to Latin America, and its unexpected ties with historic movements and leaders.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Reposted by Benjamin R. Young
🎙️ This week, in my interview series on IR, I’ll be joined by Dr. Benjamin R. Young (@dubstepindprk.bsky.social) as we bring North Korea to the table for discussion.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell to get alerts when we go live.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell to get alerts when we go live.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Beyond Nukes: Inside North Korea’s Hidden Global Power
YouTube video by Dr Lokman Karadag
www.youtube.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
🎙️ This week, in my interview series on IR, I’ll be joined by Dr. Benjamin R. Young (@dubstepindprk.bsky.social) as we bring North Korea to the table for discussion.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell to get alerts when we go live.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell to get alerts when we go live.
www.youtube.com/live/7vlNIo-...
Very preliminary look at my next book cover. Entitled “Reds, Revolutions and Rebellions: How China, Cuba, and Vietnam Transformed Guerilla Warfare,” it is scheduled to come out in summer 2026 with Cornell University Press.
October 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Very preliminary look at my next book cover. Entitled “Reds, Revolutions and Rebellions: How China, Cuba, and Vietnam Transformed Guerilla Warfare,” it is scheduled to come out in summer 2026 with Cornell University Press.
Famous Putinist sycophant Russian Singer, Shaman, meeting Kim Jong Un after his recent concert in North Korea. This renewed Russo-DPRK alliance is going to outlive the end of the Ukraine war. Military, diplomatic, and socio-cultural channels have all been strengthened.
October 11, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Famous Putinist sycophant Russian Singer, Shaman, meeting Kim Jong Un after his recent concert in North Korea. This renewed Russo-DPRK alliance is going to outlive the end of the Ukraine war. Military, diplomatic, and socio-cultural channels have all been strengthened.
I bet even the North Koreans hate him…
October 11, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I bet even the North Koreans hate him…
I contributed a review to this roundtable. It’s a Good book, with some problems.
H-Diplo Roundtable XXVII-3
Jeffrey Crean’s The Fear of Chinese Power: An International History
“argues that fears of China over the past 140 years have been based on racialized stereotypes of the Chinese” –Zach Fredman
hdiplo.org/to/RT27-3
Jeffrey Crean’s The Fear of Chinese Power: An International History
“argues that fears of China over the past 140 years have been based on racialized stereotypes of the Chinese” –Zach Fredman
hdiplo.org/to/RT27-3
hdiplo.org
September 30, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I contributed a review to this roundtable. It’s a Good book, with some problems.
My latest publication. A review of a new book on North Korea- Africa relations.
Book review: Interrogating North Korea’s role in Africa’s fight for freedom | NK News www.nknews.org/2025/09/book...
Book review: Interrogating North Korea’s role in Africa’s fight for freedom | NK News
North Korea may be best known for its nuclear brinkmanship and isolation, but as a new volume on its activities in southern Africa shows, Pyongyang has long pursued an ambitious — and often overlooke...
www.nknews.org
September 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
My latest publication. A review of a new book on North Korea- Africa relations.
Kim Jong Un is going to Beijing and sees himself as an equal international leader to both Putin and Xi. Despite North Korea’s small geographic size and isolation from the Western order, Pyongyang has always had an inferiority complex and sees its as a global player in international affairs
Train presumed to be transporting Kim Jong Un has pulled into Beijing, live footage shows. Kim, who rarely travels internationally, left Pyongyang yesterday in his transportation of choice — in a heavily armored, slow-moving train for 16-20 hours — for China's Victory Day military parade Wednesday.
September 2, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Kim Jong Un is going to Beijing and sees himself as an equal international leader to both Putin and Xi. Despite North Korea’s small geographic size and isolation from the Western order, Pyongyang has always had an inferiority complex and sees its as a global player in international affairs
Now, North Korea will really NEVER give up nukes. Let’s stop this CVID cosplay and accept North Korea as a nuclear state because that’s what it is, whether we like it or not.
June 22, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Now, North Korea will really NEVER give up nukes. Let’s stop this CVID cosplay and accept North Korea as a nuclear state because that’s what it is, whether we like it or not.
Unpopular opinion: we have learned to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea. We can learn to live with a nuclear Iran. Sure, it's not great but war is far worse.
June 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Unpopular opinion: we have learned to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea. We can learn to live with a nuclear Iran. Sure, it's not great but war is far worse.
The amount of really smart DC think tank types who are okay with another forever war in the Middle East absolutely baffle me. Because Iraq and Afghanistan worked out so well!? Now, let's go to war with a country of 92 million and has a rich proud history. Crazy people.
June 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The amount of really smart DC think tank types who are okay with another forever war in the Middle East absolutely baffle me. Because Iraq and Afghanistan worked out so well!? Now, let's go to war with a country of 92 million and has a rich proud history. Crazy people.
It’s finally official so I’m happy to say that I will be starting in a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Fayetteville State University this Fall. I’m excited to be moving to North Carolina, being closer to my family there, and also teaching at an HBCU w/ a rich history.
May 21, 2025 at 1:14 AM
It’s finally official so I’m happy to say that I will be starting in a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Fayetteville State University this Fall. I’m excited to be moving to North Carolina, being closer to my family there, and also teaching at an HBCU w/ a rich history.
Well, Kristi Noem made up that she met Kim Jong Un so the North Korea reference might not make much sense to dog killer lady.
HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?
NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country
HASSAN: That's incorrect
NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country
HASSAN: That's incorrect
May 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Well, Kristi Noem made up that she met Kim Jong Un so the North Korea reference might not make much sense to dog killer lady.
My theory is that North Korea re-closed their border to western tourists because the first batch for the marathon was a bunch of obnoxious YouTube influencers who put their cameras in everyone’s faces & likely endangered the safety of their tour guides on a near constant basis.
May 20, 2025 at 4:42 PM
My theory is that North Korea re-closed their border to western tourists because the first batch for the marathon was a bunch of obnoxious YouTube influencers who put their cameras in everyone’s faces & likely endangered the safety of their tour guides on a near constant basis.
Muhoozi, son of Ugandan dictator Museveni, is one of the few people in this world to have attended military education courses in both North Korea and the U.S.
Reactions as Gen Muhoozi boasts of torturing Bobi Wine's aide
Uganda CDF Muhoozi Detains Bobi Wine’s Bodyguard Eddie Mutwe
Uganda CGeneral Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has confirmed the detention of Eddie Mutwe, the chief bodyguard to National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Bobi Wine.
thekenyatimes.com
May 4, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Muhoozi, son of Ugandan dictator Museveni, is one of the few people in this world to have attended military education courses in both North Korea and the U.S.
It seems that the Russian government has now indicted North Korea scholar, Andrei Lankov, for working with an “undesirable organization.” Good thing he lives in South Korea now. So Orwellian but so predictable from the Kremlin.
www.svoboda.org/a/sud-v-mosk...
www.svoboda.org/a/sud-v-mosk...
Суд в Москве рассмотрит протоколы на учёного Ланькова и критика Гаврилова
Всего известно о пяти протоколах
www.svoboda.org
March 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
It seems that the Russian government has now indicted North Korea scholar, Andrei Lankov, for working with an “undesirable organization.” Good thing he lives in South Korea now. So Orwellian but so predictable from the Kremlin.
www.svoboda.org/a/sud-v-mosk...
www.svoboda.org/a/sud-v-mosk...
My mother is currently battling brain cancer too. It’s an awful disease. Amidst all the political divisions and chaos, this moment last night was uniquely uplifting and human.
Trump just told this kid, DJ Daniel, who has cancer, that acting Secret Service director Sean Curran is going to make him a Secret Service agent tonight.
March 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
My mother is currently battling brain cancer too. It’s an awful disease. Amidst all the political divisions and chaos, this moment last night was uniquely uplifting and human.
My most recent publication:
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
Abstract During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, Ayatollah Khomeini decided to release the African American hostages first as a demonstration of solidarity with the world’s oppressed peoples. Revolutiona...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
February 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
My most recent publication:
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“The Black Panthers and the Soviets: A Comparative History of Human Rights Movements."
A fascinating forthcoming book by my former MA advisor, Meredith Roman.
www.bloomsbury.com/us/black-pan...
A fascinating forthcoming book by my former MA advisor, Meredith Roman.
www.bloomsbury.com/us/black-pan...
The Black Panthers and the Soviets
The contemporaneous movements for human rights that Soviet rights defenders and the Black Panthers waged during the 1960s are analysed in a comparative fashion…
www.bloomsbury.com
February 19, 2025 at 3:20 AM
“The Black Panthers and the Soviets: A Comparative History of Human Rights Movements."
A fascinating forthcoming book by my former MA advisor, Meredith Roman.
www.bloomsbury.com/us/black-pan...
A fascinating forthcoming book by my former MA advisor, Meredith Roman.
www.bloomsbury.com/us/black-pan...
American Juche has begun. It seems.
February 2, 2025 at 1:07 AM
American Juche has begun. It seems.
My latest piece for @nknewsorg .
The language of "human waves" & "cannon fodder" suggests the DPRK troops deployed are unsophisticated & incapable of adapting, when in fact they are learning valuable lessons that have relevance far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
www.nknews.org/2025/01/the-...
The language of "human waves" & "cannon fodder" suggests the DPRK troops deployed are unsophisticated & incapable of adapting, when in fact they are learning valuable lessons that have relevance far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
www.nknews.org/2025/01/the-...
The myth of human wave attacks obscures what North Korea is learning in Ukraine | NK News
Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Benjamin R. Young, a researcher and analyst of North Korea and U.S.-East Asia relations. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively...
www.nknews.org
January 30, 2025 at 2:41 PM
My latest piece for @nknewsorg .
The language of "human waves" & "cannon fodder" suggests the DPRK troops deployed are unsophisticated & incapable of adapting, when in fact they are learning valuable lessons that have relevance far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
www.nknews.org/2025/01/the-...
The language of "human waves" & "cannon fodder" suggests the DPRK troops deployed are unsophisticated & incapable of adapting, when in fact they are learning valuable lessons that have relevance far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
www.nknews.org/2025/01/the-...
I'm happy to report that my article on the Islamic Republic of Iran's complicated relationship with African Americans is now published in the Journal of African American History. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“Even They Might Rise”: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Solidarity with African Americans | The Journal of African American History: Vol 109, No 4
Abstract During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, Ayatollah Khomeini decided to release the African American hostages first as a demonstration of solidarity with the world’s oppressed peoples. Revolutiona...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
January 22, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I'm happy to report that my article on the Islamic Republic of Iran's complicated relationship with African Americans is now published in the Journal of African American History. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
North Korea is apparently opening its Rason Special Economic Zone to international tourists soon. This is the equivalent of traveling to the U.S and only seeing Reno, Nevada.
January 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
North Korea is apparently opening its Rason Special Economic Zone to international tourists soon. This is the equivalent of traveling to the U.S and only seeing Reno, Nevada.
Good to see that the Panda Express Postdoc is still around.
"The Program in Asian American Studies (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the 2025-26 Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian American Studies."
t.co/4hpWVwU8BN
"The Program in Asian American Studies (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the 2025-26 Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian American Studies."
t.co/4hpWVwU8BN
https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=179023453&Title=Panda%20Express%20Postdoctoral%20Fellowship%20in%20Asian%20American%20Studies
t.co
January 14, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Good to see that the Panda Express Postdoc is still around.
"The Program in Asian American Studies (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the 2025-26 Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian American Studies."
t.co/4hpWVwU8BN
"The Program in Asian American Studies (ASAM) at the University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the 2025-26 Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian American Studies."
t.co/4hpWVwU8BN