Mass media in North Korea

The mass media in North Korea is amongst the most strictly controlled in the world. The constitution nominally provides for freedom of speech and the press. However, the government routinely disregards these rights, and 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 the leader, has largely followed in the footsteps of both his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father. 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. North Korea has about four million mobile-phone subscribers circa 2022—roughly one-sixth of the population and four times the number in 2012, according to an estimate by Kim Yon-ho, a senior researcher at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.^[1]

Reporters Without Borders has consistently ranked North Korea at or near the bottom of its yearly Press Freedom Index since it was first issued in 2002. The latest report, published in 2024, puts North Korea at the 177th slot out of 180.^[2]

The state news agencies are the only outlets in North Korea.^[3]

^ Martin, Timothy W.; Chomchuen, Warangkana. "North Koreans Get Smartphones, and the Regime Keeps Tabs". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
^ "Index | RSF". RFS: Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
^ Ford; Kwon, 2008, p. 90.

[rwbNK-1] Martin, Timothy W.; Chomchuen, Warangkana. "North Koreans Get Smartphones, and the Regime Keeps Tabs". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-01.

[:0-2] "Index | RSF". RFS: Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 2024-05-05.

[3] Ford; Kwon, 2008, p. 90.

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