I was a North Korean Diplomat: Inside the Secret World of Pyongyang’s Foreign Service

What Does the North Korean System Look Like from the Inside?

Han Jin-myung served for years within the North Korean state apparatus before leaving the regime in January 2015. Although more than a decade has passed since his departure, the fundamental structures of power in Pyongyang remain largely unchanged. His testimony therefore offers a rare and invaluable window into the inner workings of one of the world’s most secretive political systems.

Moving beyond clichés and sensational headlines, this book presents an insider’s account of the daily life of a North Korean diplomat and the mechanisms that sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime. Through a series of candid conversations, Han Jin-myung recounts what he witnessed from within the system: the internal dynamics of North Korean embassies, the hidden economic activities that help sustain the regime abroad, and the strategic thinking that shapes Pyongyang’s diplomacy.

The book also sheds light on little-known aspects of North Korea’s state machinery, including insights into the country’s drone program, the financial pressures placed on diplomatic missions, and the complex survival strategies developed by North Korean officials and ordinary citizens alike.

As the dialogue unfolds, the reader is drawn into a rare exchange between two observers of North Korea: one who lived and worked inside the system, and another who studies it from the outside. The result is a vivid and revealing portrait of the North Korean state—a system that is at once rigid and adaptive, opaque yet deeply strategic.

Combining personal testimony with political analysis, this book offers a compelling and unprecedented perspective on the inner logic of the North Korean regime.

About the Authors

Han Jin-myung is a former North Korean military officer and diplomat. Trained in French at Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and Kim Il-sung University, he later served in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked on relations with Africa and on the overseas dissemination of Juche ideology. From 2013 to 2015, he held the position of Third Secretary at the North Korean embassy in Hanoi. In January 2015, he defected and sought asylum in South Korea.

After his defection, he worked with South Korean intelligence services and later lived in the United Kingdom with his family before returning to South Korea in 2023. Today, Han Jin-myung participates in international conferences, produces analytical work, and continues his studies in electronics, offering a rare insider’s perspective on the inner workings of North Korean diplomacy and power.

Nicolas Levi is a researcher at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is the author of ten books on North Korea. Nicolas Levi has visited the Korean Peninsula on numerous occasions and has conducted advisory missions on North Korea for various international organizations. He is currently persona non grata in North Korea.