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North Koreans gaining more access to foreign media, says report
Cracks in the information wall that has long surrounded North Korea are increasingly allowing citizens in the country more exposure to foreign media, according to a report published on Thursday. The report, produced by Intermedia for the U.S. Department of State, was based on surveys of several hundred defectors, refugees and travelers, and found “substantial…
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Many more satellite launches coming, says DPRK
North Korea’s failed satellite launch may have faded from the pages of the world’s media, but the country’s state-run news agency hasn’t forgotten the international community’s objections to the plan. A commentary published on Thursday by Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) rehashes North Korea’s argument that the launch was part of a peaceful, civilian space…
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DPRK jamming GPS signals, says Seoul
Interference is causing problems with Global Positioning System (GPS) signals around Seoul and the South Korean government says North Korea is to blame. GPS signals became unreliable on April 30 and more than 250 commercial aircraft has to rely on other navigation methods, according to several local media reports. A spokesman for the Korea Communications Commission…
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Voice of Korea mid-2012 schedule
North Korea’s international shortwave broadcaster, the Voice of Korea, will use the following schedule for English language broadcasts from April 30, 2012. The radio station broadcasts two programs a day, each around 57 minutes long. Program one is carried on broadcasts aimed at South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, South Africa and…
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More anti-Lee vitriol, and a song
The North Korean media spent a second day on Tuesday heaping harsh criticism on South Korean president Lee Myung Bak and issuing threats against him and others. On Monday, the country’s official media carried a statement attributed to the “Special Operation Action Team of the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army” that threatened to “burn…
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DPRK radio transmitters a national secret
When North Korea launched a modernization of its broadcasting network in 2011, the Chinese company chosen to supply new TV and radio transmitters to the country faced a problem. The location of broadcast towers in North Korea is so much of a state secret that engineers from the company weren’t permitted to travel to the DPRK…
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DPRK issues new threat against Lee, SK media
North Korea came out swinging on Monday against the South Korean government, promising to “burn down” Lee Myung Bak and the country’s conservative media “within three to four minutes, or shorter than that, by unprecedented means.” The threats, which are stronger than the normal anti-Lee rhetoric that comes from the country’s media each day, followed a speech…
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DPRK promises more satellite launches
North Korea says it will continue to conduct satellite launches despite the protests of other countries. The pledge was made in a statement by the country’s foreign ministry, which was carried by the Korea Central News Agency and Voice of Korea radio (below) and doesn’t come as a surprise. The statement reiterates North Korea’s assertion that…
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English transcript of Kim Jong Un’s speech
Here’s an English translation of the speech delivered by Kim Jong Un on April 15th, 2012, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang: [Update: I should have originally mentioned, this is not an official translation. The DPRK has, to my knowledge, published no transcript of the speech.] Heroic officers of the army, the navy, the air…
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TV presenters have new double-Kim pin
Sometimes it’s the little things that mark larger changes in North Korean society. [This post has been updated, see below] As the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung this Sunday, April 15, announcers on state television have begun wearing new pins that have two faces on them.…
