by Ralph Hassig
Nor are the people given any substantive information about their own leaders and government. Promotions, demotions, and dismissals of officials are rarely mentioned, and when a top official dies, the news report is usually limited to a few lines noting that Kim Jong-il sent a wreath to the funeral. It is unusual to run across a story about accidents or crimes inside North Korea. Even during the period from 1995 to 1998, when hundreds of thousands or even millions of people were dying of starvation, no casualty statistics were published in the press, which simply observed that the country was experiencing a “food problem.” Occasionally, the media will mention a domestic tragedy if it has produced a hero worthy of emulation. For example, Nodong Sinmun published an article titled “Phoenixes Who Overcame Difficulties with Faith” about how, in a mine disaster in October 2006 (the report coming two months after the fact), two miners survived and “overcame the crisis of death with ideology and faith” by singing “Where Are You General, for Whom We Yearn?” and reciting the poem “Please Forgive.”7 It should be added, however, that the media seem to be opening up in recent years. For example, the press covered the 2007 summer floods quite extensively— although, of course, the damage was attributed to an act of nature rather than to mistakes the party has made in managing the environment.
Like all organizations in North Korea, the print and electronic media operate under the dual control of the party and the government. Party officials vet items for broadcast or publication carefully because if a published item reflects badly on the leader or the party, those responsible for its publication may lose their jobs and possibly even be thrown into prison. According to a former scriptwriter at the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), news writers and editors receive monthly topic lists from the Korean Workers’ Party’s (KWP) Propaganda and Agitation Department. Before being published, news items are submitted to an in-house review panel and then sent to the director of the news organization. From there, stories work their way through layers of officials until they reach the General Bureau of Publications Guidance and the appropriate news department of the Propaganda and Agitation Department. Editorials and important commentaries are in all likelihood submitted to Kim Jong-il for his personal review and approval. Owing to this extensive review process, news articles may not be timely, but they do provide a reliable glimpse into what the authorities are thinking. Foreign news items are sometimes published days or even weeks after the events they report, giving the North Korean propagandists time to evaluate the events and decide how best to present them. According to a former North Korean journalist, most newspaper copy is submitted a month ahead of time, and over half of the typesetting is completed several days before publication.8
For the domestic audience, North Korea has four major newspapers, one AM radio station, and three television stations. Each province also publishes a daily newspaper comparable to the capital city’s Pyongyang Daily. The only news agency is the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), whose employees gather international and domestic news, process it for publication in the domestic press, and publish some of it internationally in English and other languages, for example on the KCNA website.9 At least until the mid-1990s, about a thousand top cadres received Chamgo Tongsin (“reference news”), a briefing publication that provided its readers with foreign news and current issues to think about.
Newspapers
The DPRK’s premier news outlet is Nodong Sinmun (“daily worker”), the six-page organ of the KWP’s Central Committee published five days a week. Its editor in chief, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister, oversees a staff of six hundred reporters and editors.10 Nodong Sinmun articles, especially the editorials and commentaries, signal the direction of the Kim regime’s thinking. The paper usually takes the lead in breaking stories and presenting view-points; on the same day or soon thereafter, radio and television stations and KCNA quote articles from the party newspaper. The newspaper has twelve departments, with names like Propaganda for Juche Theory, Party History Cultivation, Revolution Cultivation, Party Life, Industry, Agriculture, International, South Korea, and, of course, Editorials.
Page 1 of the paper is largely devoted to articles and photographs about the Kims (these days, mostly Kim Jong-il), including reports of Kim’s on-the-spot guidance. Editorials and commentaries also appear on the first page. At the very top, to the left and right of the newspaper banner, one-sentence teachings of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are displayed. Page 2 is similar in content to page 1, with more articles and photographs about the Kims. Page 3 is the domestic news page, with stories about organizations that have reached or exceeded their production goals, examples of heroic workers, and descriptions of how the party’s correct policies are being realized throughout the country. Page 4 features more domestic news, along with articles on arts and culture. In terms of news content, the last two pages of Nodong Sinmun are of the greatest interest to readers, although even here the articles are chosen for their propaganda value. Page 5 is the pan-Korean or Korean-unification page, and page 6, the international page, features articles praising North Korea and criticizing other countries. Nodong Sinmun has no sports, business, or comics pages.
To provide a flavor of what passes for news in North Korea, here are article topics for Nodong Sinmun for a random date, December 18, 2003:
Page 1:
Kim Jong-il thanks managers and workers for supporting the army.
People in various countries study the classic works of Kim Jong-il.
The DPRK’s achievements in various fields are celebrated.
Page 2:
Kim Jong-suk’s development of national handicrafts is celebrated (she is the mother of Kim Jong-il).
Representatives from various countries lay wreaths at the statue of Kim Jong-suk on the occasion of her eighty-sixth birthday.
Supreme People’s Assembly president Kim Yong-nam sends greetings to the president of Niger on its founding anniversary day and to the king of Bahrain on its founding day.
Page 3:
Achievements of various organizations are presented under the heading “Let Us Endlessly Create Production Upsurges with the High Spirit of Victors.”
Page 4:
Articles and photographs highlight the achievements of Samjiyon County under the heading “People’s Paradise That Sings of the Creation of a New World.”
A film about Kim is shown to foreign diplomats in Pyongyang on the occasion of the twelfth anniversary of Kim’s appointment as the Korean People’s Army (KPA) supreme commander and the eighty-sixth anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong-suk.
The Russian ambassador hosts a New Year’s friendship party.
A friendly gathering of North Korean and Chinese youth league representatives is held.
The DPRK’s ambassador to Iran pays its president a farewell visit.
Page 5:
A special article celebrates the theme of Uriminjokkiri (“our race only”).
Republic of Korea (ROK) news is reviewed, including ROK criticism of President George W. Bush’s diplomatic policies.
Japan’s Chongnyon (the North Korean association in Japan) is praised for its efforts in nationalist education.
Page 6:
A special article warns against the dangers of war presented by the relocation of U.S. forces in the ROK.
A commentary explains why a DPRK nuclear deterrent is the only way to prevent war.
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry sees evil designs behind the passage of the U.S. sanctions law against Syria.
The Cuban army minister vows to crush U.S. provocations.
Developing countries are making progress in science and technology.
An article headline warns, “We Should Be Cautious of Japan Emerging as a Country of Aggression.”11
Articles in Nodong Sinmun are written in the communist authoritarian style, with little effort to engage the reader’s interest, although in recent years all the media are trying to become a bit more consumer friendly. Even though the paper
is meant to be a vehicle for instruction and agitation, it fails on both counts because it is extremely boring. Those Koreans who have direct access to the paper (in contrast to those who are read a few of its articles during the daily newspaper-reading session at school and at work) ignore the first four pages. Nodong Sinmun’s circulation is nominally rated at a million copies, but newsprint shortages probably prevent the paper from reaching this circulation goal.
Nodong Sinmun prints the names, titles, and quotations of Kim Jong-il and his father in boldface, much like some Bibles print the words of Jesus of Nazareth in red ink. Newsprint with photographs of the Kims must never be torn or crumpled. In October 1997, North Koreans discovered a copy of Nodong Sinmun with a photograph of Kim Il-sung in the wastebasket of a dormitory where South Korean workers were staying while building the KEDO light-water nuclear reactor; as a consequence, they were confined to their quarters for several days.12
The government publishes several other newspapers of no more interest to the general reader than Nodong Sinmun. Minju Choson (“democratic Korea”), the paper of the government cabinet, informs readers about government policies and urges their implementation. Pyongyang Sinmun (“Pyongyang daily”), the Pyongyang city paper, carries more entertainment and cultural articles than Nodong Sinmun. The daily paper of the KPA is Choson Inmingun Sinmun (“Korean People’s Army daily”), which prints information tailored to the needs of military personnel. And the daily paper of the Kim Il-sung Socialist Youth League is Chongnyon Chonwi (“youth vanguard”). Between them, the party, government, military, and youth papers cover just about all of the population.
Kulloja (“worker”), the party’s theoretical journal, publishes explanations and justifications for party policies. Kyongje Yongu (“economic studies”), a quarterly journal explaining and justifying North Korean economic policies, also tries to teach its readers the rudiments of market economics and international trade on the theory that North Korea must be prepared to deal with nonsocialist economies until capitalism destroys itself and the world embraces socialism.
Difficult economic times have placed operating constraints on the news media. The quality of newsprint is poor, except in Nodong Sinmun and Minju Choson. Articles in the press allude to problems with getting newspapers to readers: “The post and telecommunications sector must make sure that the publications, including the official party newspaper, should be immediately distributed without delay.”13 In government offices, about ten people share one copy, and in factories and other workplaces, one copy is shared by thirty or forty people. Copies are also posted on the street and distributed to neighborhood leaders to serve as a basis for political discussion sessions. In 2003 the newspaper became available on the North Korean intranet, where cadres are urged to read it first thing in the morning in order to “learn about the party’s intention and demands in a timely manner.”14
The New Year’s Joint Editorial
When Kim Il-sung was alive, he recorded a New Year’s message that was broadcast on the radio and published in Nodong Sinmun. Since his death, the message has been replaced by a joint editorial that is not attributed to any individual. No item published in North Korea receives more attention from North Koreans or is read more carefully by foreign analysts than the annual New Year’s editorial, which is comparable to the American president’s State of the Union address. For weeks after its publication, the editorial is discussed in political sessions, and school children are required to memorize parts of it. Its composition involves some of the best writers in the country, and Kim Jong-il certainly provides guidance and criticism. Perhaps to show that Kim is above any single organization, even the party, the joint editorial is published simultaneously in the newspapers of the party, the military, and the youth organization. It is also read on the radio, although not by Kim Jong-il, who has never made a public speech.
For all the attention it receives, the editorial is pretty much the same from one year to the next. The title is meant to be shouted: in 2005, “Let the Whole Party and Army and All the People Unite as One in Mind and More Strikingly Demonstrate the Might of Songun [military-first politics]”; in 2006, “Make a Higher Leap Full of Great Ambition and Confidence”; in 2007, “Usher in a Great Heyday of Songun Korea Full of Confidence in Victory”; in 2008, “Let Us Glorify This Year of the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the DPRK As a Year of Historical Turn That Will Go Down in the History of the Fatherland”; and in 2009, “Glorify This Year As a Year of a New Revolutionary Upsurge Sounding the General Advance.”
The editorial begins by boasting of the progress made in the preceding year: In 2005: “Last year, Juche 93 [2004], was a year of worthwhile struggle in which a revolutionary offensive was conducted on three fronts: politics and ideology, anti-imperialism and military affairs, and economy and science—to make a breakthrough toward fresh success in the efforts to build a great prosperous powerful nation.” In 2006: “Last year was a year of fruitful efforts and a year of great creation and changes.” In 2007: “Last year was embroidered as a great year of victory and a year of upheaval when the dawn of a powerful socialist state broke.” In 2008: “Last year was a year of proud victories in which the great vitality of our party’s military-first revolutionary line was powerfully proven and great advances were made in the building of a prosperous and powerful fatherland.” In 2009: “Last year was a year of historic turn which had written a chapter of brilliant victory in the proud 60-year annals of the DPRK.” Of course, Kim Jong-il is given credit for all victories and accomplishments, as in, “These shining victories and successes made by our army and people last year are a shining fruition of leader Kim Jongil’s unquestioned leadership prestige and invincible political caliber.”
The editorial then turns to the coming year, with predictions of even greater successes, building on the alleged firm foundations of the preceding year: In 2005: “Juche 94 [2005] is a worthwhile year which will witness a great turn in the Korean revolution and in the efforts to accomplish the cause of building a great prosperous powerful nation.” In 2006: “New year Juche 95 [2006] is a year of general offensive that will make a great leap forward in the building of a great prosperous powerful socialist nation.” In 2007: “The new year of 2007, Juche 96, is a year of great changes, a year which will usher in a new era of prosperity of military-first Korea.” In 2008: “The new year, Juche 97, is a year of a magnificent struggle and an auspicious year in the history of the nation, in which a great turn will be brought about in the history of our fatherland and revolution.” In 2009: “The new year, Juche 98 [2009], is a year of a new revolutionary surge in which all the people should launch a general offensive in response to the party’s call to make a historic leap on all fronts in the building of a prosperous nation.”
After the review and pep talk, the editorial presents the main theme for the new year. In 2005 and 2006 the theme was agriculture. In 2007, it was improving the people’s standard of living and stepping up technological innovation. In 2008, it was, once again, boosting the people’s standard of living, with a somewhat ominous emphasis on the need to “keep to socialism in its original form.” In 2009, it was the need to recapture the spirit of the great socialist upswing in the economy of the 1950s. After discussing the main issue, the editorial turns to ideology and politics, urging the people to follow the dictates of the party and support the military. The next major topic is unification, followed by a brief discussion of the international situation, usually criticizing American attempts to intimidate North Korea.
The editorial’s tone is upbeat and militant. Every year the claim is made that a foundation for success has been laid and now is the time to build on that foundation. The country is said to have reached a “turning point,” after which things will get better. People are told that they have everything they need to achieve a brighter future, if only they will give “fuller play” to the correct policies laid down by Kim and the party. Unfortunately, every year turns out to be pretty much like the year before, wit
h little or no economic progress. Consequently, people pay no more attention to the New Year’s editorial than is absolutely necessary.
Radio, Television, and the Third Broadcasting System
For most North Koreans, televisions, especially color sets, are still luxury items. There may be only four million radios and a few million television sets in the entire country of twenty-three million people, although no statistics are available. In Pyongyang and other major cities, most households have a television; in the countryside, perhaps only one in ten or twenty do. Radios manufactured in North Korea have analog dials soldered to receive only the broadcast frequency of KCBS, which has transmitters throughout the country.
KCBS and Korean Central Television (KCTV), its companion television station, carry more domestic news and less international news than KCNA provides to the international audience. In addition to KCTV, which offers news and other programming on weekday evenings and during the weekend, Mansudae Television provides entertainment programs on weekends and holidays, and Korean Educational and Cultural Television broadcasts programs for three hours on weekdays and longer on weekends. The PAL television signal broadcast by North Korea (also used in Europe and China) is incompatible with the NTSC South Korean television signal (also used in the United States and Japan). For comparison purposes, here are the major news stories carried by KCBS and KCTV on December 18, 2003, the date for the preceding list of articles from Nodong Sinmun: