Investigating life in North Korea

North Korea is the most secretive state in the world. Its borders have been sealed for more than 3 years, making it impossible to know what is happening. For months, the BBC has been secretly communicating with three people inside the country – ordinary citizens who wanted to share their suffering with the world. On yesterday's programme, we played you a report about how people are starving to death because food is so scarce. In today's programme we are joined by our Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie, who explains how state crackdowns are making it even harder for people to survive.

Relatives of people travelling in a migrant boat that sank off Greece have been arriving in a nearby port trying to find news of their family members. At least 79 people died in a shipwreck and hundreds are still missing. We speak to people who take part in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Reports say that scientists have created the first synthetic human embryos - using no eggs or sperm - provoking deep ethical questions. The development of human synthetic embryos was announced at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Our health and science correspondent joins us to answer your questions.

Presenter: Peter Okwoche.

(Photo: A passer-by walks past a TV screen on a street displaying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after North Korea in Tokyo, Japan, 31 May 2023. Credit: FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)