NED · NORTH KOREA — 24 grants, $6.3M
Key claim: The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is providing $6.3M across 24 active grants targeting North Korea, funding projects on defector media, human rights leadership, and information access.
Abstract
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has 24 active grants in NORTH KOREA totaling $6.3M (public listing as of 2025-07-15). Grantee names are largely withheld for grantee safety (NED duty of care). Sample projects: Supporting Defectors in Media Content Development for North Koreans ($63.6K); Enhancing the Capacity of Emerging Human Rights Leaders ($65.0K); Strengthening Regional Awareness Through Online News ($77.5K); Promoting Information Access Through Daily News ($80.0K).
Why this matters
North Korea programming is a distinctive slice of NED’s global portfolio: with almost no in-country civil society access, funding flows to diaspora, defector, and information-penetration projects that shape outside understanding of the regime. Tracking this $6.3M line alongside NED’s other country programs helps map how U.S. democracy-promotion dollars are allocated across closed authoritarian environments.