page_title: Mass media in North Korea
section_title: Domestic and international coverage
hierarchical_section_title: Mass media in North Korea / Domestic and international coverage
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Fernsehturm Pjöngjang
context_page_description: The mass media in North Korea is amongst the most strictly controlled in the whole world. The constitution nominally provides for freedom of speech and the press. However, the government prohibits the exercise of these rights incoming in and out of the country, but seeks to mold information at its source. A typical example of this was the death of Kim Jong-il, news of which was not divulged until two days after it occurred. Kim Jong-un, who replaced his father as leader, has given every indication he will largely follow in his father's footsteps. However, new technologies are being made more freely available in the country. State-run media outlets are setting up websites, while mobile phone ownership in the country has escalated rapidly. “There is no country which monopolizes and controls successfully the internet and information as North Korea does, ” said Kang Shin-sam, an expert on North Korean technology and co-head of the International Solidarity for Freedom of Information in North Korea, a nonprofit based in South Korea.
context_section_description: The media is used to promote contrasting domestic and international agendas. Kim Il-Sung was said to recognise its power to influence North Koreans and confuse the outside world. Often, news is released to the international community and withheld from the domestic North Korean population, and other news is released domestically but not internationally.
  Though some international news coverage is given in DPRK media, much is ignored, is mentioned very briefly, or is announced several days after the event, as was the case with the Ryongchon disaster in 2004. Reports are also notoriously secretive. The media remained silent on domestic issues, by not reporting on economic reforms introduced by the government such as increasing wages and food prices, rarely mentioning Kim Jong-il until his first party position in 1980 and the launching of missiles. Restrictions on the dissemination of information do not only apply to the civilian population, but to North Korean officials themselves, depending on ranking.
  In contrast, the idea of reunification of the two Koreas is a pervasive theme in the North Korean media, as is the near constant "threat" of an "imminent attack" by the foreign countries. In recent years, the media describes in detail satellite launches launched by the country as a sign of the DPRKs "economic prowess." The media rarely reports bad news from the country; however on one rare occasion, the press acknowledged a famine and food shortages in the 1990s.
  It has had a role in supporting anti-government demonstrations in South Korea; in the late 1980s it launched a propaganda campaign urging South Koreans to "fight against the 'government' without concessions and compromise", using false claims to portray the demonstrations as fighting for communism, which, rather, were in support of liberal democracy. It continues to support South Korean anti-government groups, quoting relevant societies and unions critical of the government policy and denouncing government "crackdowns", calling for freedom of expression and democracy for South Korean citizens. From January 1 to June 22, 2009, North Korean media was reported to have criticised the South Korean president 1,700 times — an average of 9.9 times daily.
  During the Khrushchev era of the Soviet Union when relations were tense, North Korean media would openly reprint articles critical of the USSR, often written by North Korean officials. However, once relations between the DPRK and Soviet Union improved, the articles would no longer appear. In the following years, both North Korean and Soviet media would play down sensitive anniversaries.
caption: Pyongyang TV Tower
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