Most of Chongryon’s activities remain cultural or educational, and for decades they have been largely symbolic. But its affiliated institutions still give North Korea a valuable base in Japan.
In the future, Chongryon’s mandate may matter more to Pyongyang as North Korea tries to expand its influence abroad, maximise its sources of income, and increase its leverage over adversaries.
There are signs this is already happening in the information space. In February, a new Japanese-language website (Opens in new window) promoting North Korean policy lines went live. Reportedly run (Opens in new window) by a research group made up of staff from the Choson Sinbo and professors at the Chongryon-affiliated Korea University, it publishes full Japanese translations of Kim’s policy speeches and statements by his sister, Kim Yo Jong. The site even allows users to receive updates via Line and runs an account (Opens in new window) on X, which remains active as of September 2026.
Kim has several other ways to widen the organisation’s role. He could send more Zainichi students to North Korea, or give them specialised training before they return to Japan, including in the cyber field. North Korean hackers already operate (Opens in new window) worldwide (Opens in new window), so a similar effort aimed at Japanese institutions, or even the Japanese government, is easy to imagine.
The timing is also notable. Pyongyang has sharply criticised (Opens in new window) what it sees as Japan’s militarisation and has consistently backed (Opens in new window) Beijing’s position on the issue. If both China and North Korea see the threat from Japan as growing, Kim may decide that is reason enough to expand North Korea’s footprint there. That could mean cyber operations, espionage, or more exchanges of delegations across various fields.
With North Korea still refusing (Opens in new window) to help resolve the decades-long abduction issue and rejecting (Opens in new window) Japanese talk of a possible summit, relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang are likely to stay poor for the foreseeable future.
Even though the North Korean athletes will go home when the Games end, the Chongryon organisation and its members will remain in Japan. Its shrinking membership may tempt Tokyo to treat it as an old relic that is quietly fading. However, Pyongyang’s spending and Kim’s rhetoric suggests it sees something different: a small yet increasingly relevant foothold.
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