Tag: Television broadcasting

  • North Korea’s other TV: What you don’t see on KCTV

    North Korea’s other TV: What you don’t see on KCTV

    Among the many sources used to analyze North Korea is Korean Central Television (KCTV), the main, state-run television channel. KCTV carries coverage of Kim Jong Un’s activities and key announcements and decisions from the Workers’ Party, provides updates on priority economic initiatives, and airs historical documentaries and cultural fare such as movies, children’s programming and…

  • North Korea’s first multi-channel IPTV service apparently launched

    North Korea’s first multi-channel IPTV service apparently launched

    North Korea’s Manbang Supply Center (만방보급소) appears to have launched a multi-channel Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) streaming service, providing 20 channels of linear television across the country’s internal data networks. It is the first cable TV-like service in the country and represents a significant expansion in entertainment options for subscribing households. Alongside electronic payment services,…

  • The Importance of Foreign Information Access in North Korea 

    The Importance of Foreign Information Access in North Korea 

    For decades, North Koreans have relied on illicit foreign information to provide news, information, entertainment, knowledge and — perhaps most importantly — ideas they would otherwise never have access to.  But since the beginning of this year, the amount of radio and television programming being beamed into North Korea has plummeted. Radio broadcasting is down…

  • North Korea’s Revised Radio Wave Control Law

    North Korea’s Revised Radio Wave Control Law

    A key North Korean law that provides the technical basis for much of the country’s censorship of foreign broadcast and communications networks has been expanded in scope. The Radio Wave Control Law (전파관리법) previously covered radio equipment but a revised version published in 2023 includes electronic devices, including computers. The revisions add a lot more…