Xingxin Zhang is studying political science and East Asian languages and culture at Columbia University. Although she has concentrated on China, Japan, and Southeast Asia in the past, she seeks to more deeply understand North Korea with regards to its human rights issues on a domestic level and within a regional and international context. Xingxin has just returned from a year of studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she gained insight into the international political arena from a European point of view. In the past, she has worked at the D.C. office of Congressman John Larson. She has also done Chinese interpretational work for various offices.