North Korea media breaks tradition to report summit
11 June 2018
North Korea's state-run media are already reporting on Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's trip to Singapore to meet US President Donald Trump - before the 12 June meeting has taken place. It's a big break from Pyongyang's usual behaviour, which doesn't - as a rule - report on Mr Kim's activities until he is safely back in Pyongyang. Not only have Korean Central TV, KCNA news agency and newspaper Rodong Sinmun published reports on the trip to Singapore, they have also told North Koreans the exact purpose of the visit - to meet the president of the United States. Rodong Sinmun newspaper also seems to be preparing people for talks with the "enemy", publishing an editorial on North Korea's need to establish relations with other countries. Its state-run media are reporting extensively on Mr Kim's arrival in Singapore, with KCNA publishing three reports detailing his departure from Pyongyang, arrival in Singapore and meeting with Singaporean Premier Lee Hsien Loong. They also mention the purpose of his trip, a "historic first meeting with the US president", describing not only Mr Kim's itinerary but also the fact that he used a Chinese plane to fly to Singapore, rather than his own personal jet. "Wide-ranging and profound views on the issue of establishing new DPRK-US relations... will be exchanged at the DPRK-US summit talks, to be held for the first time in history under the great attention and expectation of the whole world," one report notes. The mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun newspaper, dedicates the first and second pages of its 11 June edition to the leader's visit. Central TV announced the visit with special announcements voiced by veteran news anchor Ri Chun-hee in her usual, inimitable style. Any change to North Korean media's day-to-day routine usually signifies that something important is happening. State outlets never usually report on the supreme leader's movements in advance, owing to a level of control and paranoia which the country has operated under for decades. Even Mr Kim's two recent trips abroad to neighbouring China were not reported to the North Korean population until he had returned home. But this time, media have not only told North Korean citizens that their leader is out of the country, but also that he is meeting a man with whom they were openly exchanging insults only six months ago. State media may have tried a dry run to handle Mr Kim's absence two weeks ago, when Central Television reported his opening of a new railway bridge in the east of the country while he was still in the coastal city of Wonsan inspecting the construction of a major holiday resort. During Kim Jong-un's absence, state media notes that titular head of state Kim Yong-nam is still in Pyongyang, preparing for a visit to Russia later this week for the opening ceremony of the football World Cup. Now that North Korean citizens know their leader is set to talk to the country's sworn enemy of seven decades, media have found it necessary to explain a fundamental change of direction in state policy. Citizens are traditionally told - pretty much from birth - that the United States and former colonial power Japan are the great enemies of the people of the Korean peninsula. North Korea has changed its narrative in recent months. It has been speaking of a "changed era", where old certainties are being rethought to achieve denuclearisation and peace. The country has also hyped up its intentions to develop a floundering economy. Readers of Rodong Sinmun would have seen an unusual - by North Korean standards - editorial, arguing that Pyongyang should be engaging with other nations. "The situation demands that all nations and peoples should go out to establish fair international relations," the paper says. It further justifies its new position with a quote from former leader Kim Jong-il: "We can develop fair international relations when all nations and all peoples maintain independence and respect each other, and we can build a truly independent, peaceful and friendly new world." North Korea, it concludes, can only "actively contribute to world peace and human wellbeing", by engaging with other nations. But, it warns: "We never allowed any interference from foreign powers." BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.
Its state-run media are reporting extensively on Mr Kim's arrival in Singapore, with KCNA publishing three reports detailing his departure from Pyongyang, arrival in Singapore and meeting with Singaporean Premier Lee Hsien Loong. They also mention the purpose of his trip, a "historic first meeting with the US president", describing not only Mr Kim's itinerary but also the fact that he used a Chinese plane to fly to Singapore, rather than his own personal jet. "Wide-ranging and profound views on the issue of establishing new DPRK-US relations... will be exchanged at the DPRK-US summit talks, to be held for the first time in history under the great attention and expectation of the whole world," one report notes. The mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun newspaper, dedicates the first and second pages of its 11 June edition to the leader's visit. Central TV announced the visit with special announcements voiced by veteran news anchor Ri Chun-hee in her usual, inimitable style.
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What is North Korea saying?
Any change to North Korean media's day-to-day routine usually signifies that something important is happening. State outlets never usually report on the supreme leader's movements in advance, owing to a level of control and paranoia which the country has operated under for decades. Even Mr Kim's two recent trips abroad to neighbouring China were not reported to the North Korean population until he had returned home. But this time, media have not only told North Korean citizens that their leader is out of the country, but also that he is meeting a man with whom they were openly exchanging insults only six months ago. State media may have tried a dry run to handle Mr Kim's absence two weeks ago, when Central Television reported his opening of a new railway bridge in the east of the country while he was still in the coastal city of Wonsan inspecting the construction of a major holiday resort. During Kim Jong-un's absence, state media notes that titular head of state Kim Yong-nam is still in Pyongyang, preparing for a visit to Russia later this week for the opening ceremony of the football World Cup.
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Why is this important?