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We Interrupt this Propaganda…A Dynamic 24 Hours on North Korean TV
On Wednesday, North Korea’s state TV channel Korean Central Television (KCTV) took the historically unprecedented step of broadcasting through the night as the storm Typhoon Bavi (Typhoon No. 8) approached the country. This follows a Tuesday executive policy council meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee where Kim Jong Un discussed the approaching…
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KCTV appears on Chinese satellite
Korean Central Television has appeared on a Chinese telecommunications satellite after technical problems hit its existing satellite. KCTV has been relayed on Chinasat-12 since mid-January, which is about a month after Bangkok-based Thaicom reported a “technical incident” on its Thaicom-5 satellite. Thaicom-5 is one of the most important TV satellites for South East Asia and…
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The high price of KCTV in Seoul
The launch of 5G cellular networks in Seoul presented media outlets in the city with a problem: the frequencies used by the phone network overlap with a portion of the C-band satellite spectrum that includes a relay of Korean Central Television on the Thaicom-5 satellite. The phone signals are much stronger than the weak satellite…
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More changes for North Korean TV’s weather broadcast
North Korean TV’s weather broadcast has started using updated graphics to accompany changes made a month earlier when it refreshed the presentation style. The changes this time are slight but point to further evolution of the evening news bulletin, which has started using more advanced computer graphics and infographics in some of its reporting. The…
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New graphics in regular use during North Korean TV’s economic news segments
The new graphics introduced for just one day during North Korea’s TV news in March are making a comeback. Korean Central TV used a more modern production method in reports during its March 21 bulletin. It featured 3D graphics overlaid on video and more interesting camera shots, but the next day things were back to…
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KCTV refreshes its weather forecast presentation
Korean Central Television debuted a more casual presentation style for its weather broadcast. It’s the second recent on-screen change for state-TV.
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KCTV tries a new look for the news but the content stays the same
Korean Central Television tried out a new look for its news last week, giving the main evening bulletin a slightly more contemporary look. But while the on-screen presentation was a bit more attractive, the main subjects covered in the news weren’t any different from before. The changes could be due to the increased influence and…
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KCTV appears on a South Korean satellite
North Korea’s state-run television and radio service has begun broadcasting via a South Korean satellite, according to reports from satellite monitors in the region. Korea Central Television (조선중앙텔레비죤) appeared on the Koreasat-5A satellite in mid March alongside two radio stations: the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (조선중앙방송) and Voice of Korea (조선의소리). The transmission appears to…
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Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s Address: The Art of Propaganda
Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s address got a makeover in 2019. Gone was the lectern and flowers in front of a large assembly hall, and in came an armchair and a more relaxed style. KCTV thankfully got rid of most of the absurd recorded applause that punctuated his speech in previous years, although snippets were…
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North Korean Media: KCTV’s Coverage of Kim Jong Un’s Diplomatic Push in 2018
North Korea’s state broadcaster, Korean Central Television (KCTV), has had to tread a fine line covering this year’s international summits and diplomatic events. On the one hand, the numerous summits have been something to hail, having put Kim Jong Un concretely on the global stage, broken the country’s international diplomatic isolation and potentially laid the…
