-
·
TV Review: Secret State of North Korea
The harsh, closed world of North Korea and the lengths the state goes to keep people under control reached primetime television in the U.S. on Tuesday evening. Frontline, the premiere news documentary program of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) network, aired an edition focused on the DPRK called “Secret State of North Korea.” For…
-
·
BBC decides against service for North Korea
The BBC World Service has decided not to launch a service aimed at North Korea, concluding any programming aimed at the country would face an uncertain audience and not be cost-effective. The decision was relayed in a letter from British Foreign Secretary William Hague to the U.K. Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The BBC World Service is…
-
·
Kim Jong Un’s new year address
For the second year in a row, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on state TV and radio on January 1 to deliver a new year address to his nation. The direct address was something of a surprise when it happened last year as Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, was rarely heard speaking on…
-
·
“Mass intimidation” from DPRK media on Jang’s execution
North Korean state media’s coverage of the arrest, trial and subsequent execution of Jang Song Thaek was “tantamount to mass intimidation,” Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday. “Although only to be expected from one of the world’s worst dictatorships, such manipulation of news and information is disturbing,” the Paris-based group said in a statement. “The extensive…
-
·
North Korean TV on execution of Jang Song Thaek
Korean Central Television broadcast a 17-minute report on the special military tribunal of the DPRK Ministry of State Security. The trial concluded by sentencing Jang to death. Here’s the clip:
-
·
KCNA deleted, then restored old reports on Jang
News reports that centered on Jang Song Thaek were deleted from the Korean Central News Agency’s website in the hours before state media announced his removal from power on Monday. The reports vanished from the Korean-language portion of the site at around 5am Korean time on Monday (8pm GMT Sunday), said Frank Feinstein, a New Zealand-based…
-
·
North Korean media coverage of Jang’s departure
North Korea’s state media revealed in stunning detail on Monday the alleged infractions of Jang Song Thaek and showed still images of his being led from a Worker’s Party of Korea meeting by soldiers. The reports, which are unprecedented for North Korea, came just less than a week after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported…
-
·
UK’s Channel 4 showing North Korea’s evening TV news
As part of a season of programs and reports on North Korea, the U.K.’s Channel 4 is showing the main evening news from Korea Central Television with English translation. The news bulletins are being carried on Channel 4’s website under the banner “North Korea Uncovered” and begin with the news from October 14. “North Korea…
-
·
KCTV Facebook page deleted, but streams live on
A Facebook page that claimed to be the official home of North’s Korea’s main national TV channel, Korean Central Television, has disappeared. The page appeared to have been around for at least a month and content included links to KCTV news bulletins on the YouTube channel of the China-based Uriminzokkiri website, photos and stories from…
-
·
Live from Pyongyang, it’s KCTV on Facebook … or maybe not
On Thursday, South Korea’s Yonhap reported on a new Facebook page in the name of the Korean Central Television, North Korea’s national TV station. (Updated. See below.) Yonhap said, “North Korea’s state broadcaster started real-time Facebook broadcasting as the communist country moves to expand its propaganda efforts into the social networking realm, official sources said Thursday.” In…
