Posts tagged AsiaPress
TV Review: Secret State of North Korea
Jan 17th
The harsh, closed world of North Korea and the lengths the state goes to keep people under control reached primetime television in the U.S. on Tuesday evening. Frontline, the premiere news documentary program of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) network, aired an edition focused on the DPRK called “Secret State of North Korea.”
For North Korea to get such primetime coverage is relatively rare in the U.S. The country typically only breaks onto American television screens when the North Korean government says something particularly provocative, and then its fodder for the non-stop news networks.
In its Tuesday evening documentary, Frontline did More >
Fines for using Chinese mobile phones
Jun 26th
AsiaPress has detailed the fines North Koreans face if they get caught using Chinese mobile phones.
The use of such phones is prohibited in North Korea, but some citizens secretly use them to make uncensored calls to contacts in China, South Korea and other countries. Among them are a handful of North Korean “citizen reporters” that feed information to AsiaPress.
The agency says a fine of 1 million North Korean won is levied on anyone caught calling South Korea. The fine for a phone call to China is between 400,000 won and 600,000 won, it reported. Additionally, violators face up to a More >
How digital technology helps get news from North Korea
Nov 2nd
Today I had the chance to meet and hear Jiro Ishimaru of AsiaPress speak at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. He was there to talk about how the Japanese news agency manages a small network of North Koreans who report from inside the country and smuggle out images and video.
The network is fascinating to hear about, as are Ishimaru’s stories about information flow both ways across the Chinese border.
Some snippets:
- Most young people in major cities have seen South Korean TV dramas.
- The dramas are recorded in China from satellite broadcasts and appear quickly in local markets.
- They are smuggled into North Korea, More >
