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Changes in North Korean TV presentation
North Korean TV news doesn’t change very much. Centrally programmed from Pyongyang, the news can be counted on the provide an update of the work of Kim Jong Un (usually depicted in still photos rather than video), commentary on issues in South Korea and the U.S., reports on innovation in industry, medicine, education and farming, and…
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Reception check: KCTV’s new satellite feed
A couple of weeks ago I reported that satellite monitors had found a new feed of Korean Central Television on Intelsat 21, a satellite above the Atlantic that covers all of the Americas and west Europe. Today I had a chance to check it out. The feed is being broadcast in standard definition PAL. That isn’t…
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North Korea is second worst for press freedom in latest CPJ survey
North Korea is the second most-censored nation on earth, according to a new ranking by the Committee to Protect Journalists. For anyone that knows North Korea or has been paying attention to press freedom studies and rankings, the news hardly comes as a surprise. The government has complete control over the news media, which is limited…
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North Korean TV expands satellite transmissions
Korean Central Television has appeared on a satellite above the Atlantic Ocean, extending coverage of its live signal to the Americas and Europe. The TV channel, which is North Korea’s main state-run TV service, began broadcasting on Intelsat 21 earlier in April, according to monitoring reports. KCTV has been available for more than a decade…
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Voice of Korea schedule for mid-2015
Voice of Korea, North Korea’s international shortwave broadcasting station, will use the following schedule from March 29 for roughly six months. The broadcasts follow the same basic line-up each day. :00 Opening signal, station identification: “This is Voice of Korea” :01 National Anthem :03 Song of General Kim Il Sung :06 Song of General Kim…
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BBC World Service still mulling North Korean service
The BBC World Service is still exploring ways to launch programming aimed at North Korea. The broadcaster had previously said budget cuts are hampering efforts to get its news and information programming into the country, but a new report makes clear the country remains an expansion target.
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Obama says Internet could bring down Kim regime
Greater access to information, particularly the Internet, will likely prove to be what ends the rule of North Korea’s regime, President Obama said last week in an interview. Speaking to YouTube creators during an event at The White House, Obama said military options against the country were limited, in part because of the potential damage…
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Balloon launch of “The Interview” DVDs to go ahead
A U.S.-based group says a launch it is sponsoring of balloons carrying copies of the Sony Pictures movie “The Interview” into North Korea will go ahead, despite threats against it by the North Korean government. The Human Rights Foundation said on Monday that the launch, performed by the group Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK), would take place sometime this…
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KCTV launches HD satellite broadcasts
Korean Central Television, North Korea’s main national television station, has begun high-definition broadcasting. The TV station has been available in standard definition via the Thaicom satellite for more than 15 years, and earlier in January a second high-definition feed of the TV station appeared. The technical parameters of the new broadcast are as follows: 3696MHz, horizontally polarized, 4167…
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Defector media outlets align, want AM radio outlet
Four of South Korea’s leading defector-run media outlets have begun jointly lobbying the government on issues of mutual interest and their first target appears to be a mediumwave (AM) radio frequency. Radio Free Chosun, Open Radio for North Korea, Daily NK and OTV have come together under the “Unification Media Group,” Daily NK reported. The four have a…
