Media coverage of North Korea

Last updated

Media coverage of North Korea (officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information, coupled with an abundant number of sensationalist falsehoods. [1] There are a number of reasons for this lack of information and incorrect stories.

Contents

Access to North Korea by foreign news media is severely restricted by the North Korean government. There are very few full-time correspondents in the country. In the absence of on-the-spot reportage, a key source of information about North Korea is the testimony of defectors, but the defectors are not necessarily reliable for several reasons. Overall, much information about North Korea is filtered through South Korea, and the longstanding conflict between the two states distorts the information that is received.

Despite North Korea being a "black box" to outsiders, strong interest in the Kim family, as well as misunderstandings of Korean culture, have also led to inaccurate reporting. In the absence of solid evidence, some media outlets turn to sensationalism, basing stories on rumors. Stereotypes, exaggerations, or caricaturing distort some media coverage of North Korea. There has been some media coverage based on hoaxes or satire. [2]

Overall assessments

In 2014, Tania Branigan, a correspondent for The Guardian, said that there "are few other international topics on which so much is published with so little relation to or even care for the truth" by media outlets "with all sorts of standpoints and of widely varying quality". [3] Branigan offers several reasons why this is the case. First, because North Korea stories attract many readers, editors and reporters many have "overwhelming" temptation to run even suspect stories. [3] Second, journalists have severely limited sources in North Korea: "We can't pick up the phone and ask Pyongyang for comment, then call some North Korean farmers to see if they agree. Even if we call an expert, they will often be hypothesizing.... At the worst, we may only be able to find out whether it is plausible or not. The demands of rolling news contribute to this because we now have a system where people are producing stories much faster. In many cases sites are doing little or no original reporting but aggregating and sending on. Mistakes get replicated, even expanded". [3] Third, relatively few journalists speak Korean. [3] Fourth, because North Korea is an isolated society, "stories may be too hard to disprove: The difficulties of accessing information also mean it is impossible for anyone to flat out refute many stories about North Korea. So a website or television station may run a highly questionable piece but even if they are challenged on it, it's hard to demonstrate that they are indisputably wrong". [3] Finally, "North Korea is simply so bizarre and unlikely in many regards that it often seems anything is possible there". [3]

In 2015, filmmaker Anna Broinowski wrote, "If any country proves sensationalism beats truth in the social media economy, it’s North Korea". [4]

In 2022, David Tizzard wrote in NK News that, "It’s certainly true that some media use exaggerated and orientalist language in their reporting on life in the DPRK. Many will have seen the sensationalist stories about death by dogs, 11 holes-in-one and so on. Such reporting is incredibly problematic and is not just restricted to tabloids and fringe websites. But there is also a great deal of accurate, informed and balanced coverage of North Korea. In fact, it could be reasonably argued that the country has never been understood better." [5]

Lack of reliable information

Media coverage of North Korea often features military parades 0963 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjongjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (22353978314).jpg
Media coverage of North Korea often features military parades

Media coverage is hampered by a lack of reliable information. [6] [7] The verification of facts is notoriously difficult. [4] For example, researcher Christopher Green has described trying to confirm a story about Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho being killed in a firefight in Pyongyang in 2012, but being unable to find a source there that knew about it. [8] Even intelligence agencies struggle with the task. [9] [10] Former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, National Security Adviser, and CIA officer Donald Gregg has described North Korea as the "longest-running intelligence failure in the history of US espionage". [11] Former CIA director Robert Gates called it the "toughest intelligence target in the world". [12] Economist Rüdiger Frank, speaking about difficulties with analyzing North Korean economic data, said "The main problem is not the reliability of data; there is a lack of numbers in general, even manipulated ones". [13] [14]

Isaac Stone Fish of Foreign Policy and Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders have described the country as an information "black hole". [15] [16] Simple facts, such as whether marijuana is illegal in North Korea, are difficult to ascertain. [17] According to Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "Anyone who tells you that they know anything for certain about North Korea is either trying to kid you or trying to kid themselves." [15] Analyst Andrei Lankov has compared reporting North Korea to the parable of the blind men and an elephant, with analysts falsely extrapolating from limited data. [18] Several authors have referred to a North Korean "rumor mill". [8] [19] [20] South Korean journalists and media experts have described this as a "systemic problem". [21]

Due to the popularity of North Korean news, however, stories are frequently widely circulated in the global media with minimal fact-checking or analysis. [22] [23] [24] Often journalists retail stories uncritically because they assess them as impossible to verify. [25] South Korean journalists have reported a vicious circle, in which a rumour reported in South Korea is picked up by an international media outlet and then is reported by the South Korean media as fact. [25] False reports of deaths and coups have occurred frequently over decades. [26]

In 2020, academics and politicians in South Korea expressed their concern about false reporting of North Korea. Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies published a book, Multi-layer Analysis and Understanding of False Information about North Korea, about the issue. [27] [28]

Reporting in North Korea

In August 2020 multiple tabloid newspapers incorrectly headlined that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was dead or in a coma based on comments by a South Korean ex-diplomat. Kim Jong Un Portrait Size.jpg
In August 2020 multiple tabloid newspapers incorrectly headlined that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was dead or in a coma based on comments by a South Korean ex-diplomat.

Media in North Korea are under some of the strictest government control in the world. [32] The main local media outlet is the Korean Central News Agency. North Korea has a high level of security and secrecy. Communication with the outside world is limited, and internal communication also seems limited at times. [15] Reporters Without Borders describes North Korea as the world's most closed country, [33] ranking it last in the Press Freedom Index. [34] DPRK Today is a Chinese-based website that carries North Korean propaganda but is not exactly the mouthpiece of the North Korea government. [35]

The North Korean government places stringent restrictions on foreign reporters, visitors, and even residents of foreign origin. Freedom of movement is severely curtailed, interactions with local people are supervised, and photography is heavily regulated. Because of this reporters often find it difficult to check stories and establish hard facts. [22] [36] Many analysts and journalists have never visited North Korea or have had very limited access. As a result, their books and articles may rely on speculation and scanty information gleaned from a single, uncorroborated source, such as a defector. [37] : 59–66, 107, 117–18  Other reports rely on the analysis of satellite imagery. [38]

When foreign journalists do visit the country, they often run into problems, because North Korean and Western journalists have different understandings about the role of the media. (The situation is different for Russian and Chinese journalists reporting on North Korea). North Koreans expect Western journalists to behave like Soviet journalists during the Cold War, while Western journalists would like to exert the freedom of the press more widely. [39] Researching topics like prison camps are out of bounds, and North Korean officials are often reluctant to give statements on the record. As with tourists, foreign journalists are always accompanied by minders, and any encounters with locals have been arranged. [40] Foreign journalists have access to the Internet, making real-time reporting possible. [40] Although control is strict, foreign journalists are only rarely expelled from the country. [41] In 2014, photographer Eric Lafforgue was banned from returning after taking many candid photographs. [42] In 2019, Australian student Alek Sigley was detained and deported on the grounds that the columns he wrote for news outlets such as NK News were espionage. [43]

In 2019, there were only five foreign correspondents permanently stationed in North Korea: from Russia's TASS news agency; China’s People’s Daily, China Central Television, and Xinhua; and Cuba's Prensa Latina. [44] Cuba's correspondent had greater access than many foreign journalists, but still faced restrictions, such as being unable to use public transport. [44] Freelance journalists occasionally visit, and large numbers of international media converge on the country during major events. [44]

The Associated Press opened a video-only bureau in Pyongyang in 2006. In 2012, the bureau became the first Western all-format bureau in the country. [45] The bureau does not have a full-time presence. Rather, the journalists can only stay for weeks at a time in the country before having to renew their visa. [46] AP photographer David Guttenfelder has been visiting North Korea since 2000, and has experienced the easing of restrictions over time. In 2013 he reported being able to upload photographs onto Instagram without censorship. [47]

Agence France-Presse opened a bureau in 2016. Under an agreement with the Korean Central News Agency, AFP will be able to send teams of journalists into the country. As part of the agreement, a North Korean photographer and a videographer will produce content under AFP supervision. [48] Japan’s Kyodo news agency also has a bureau, but like AP and AFP does not have full-time staff. [44]

Defectors

US Secretary of State John Kerry listens to Shin Dong-hyuk speak about his experiences in North Korea. Secretary Kerry Listens to North Korean Human Rights Activist.jpg
US Secretary of State John Kerry listens to Shin Dong-hyuk speak about his experiences in North Korea.

Defectors from North Korea are a key source of first-hand information for intelligence officers, scholars, activists, and journalists. While their testimony is considered valuable, there is growing skepticism about the veracity of their accounts. [49] [50] [51] Often defectors are cited anonymously to protect their identities, which makes it difficult to verify their information. [52] Moreover, defectors often have limited experience and are not experts on North Korea. [25]

For their part, when surveyed in 2017 by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, many defectors complained that journalists had violated their right to privacy. [53]

Felix Abt, a Swiss businessman who lived in the DPRK, argues that defectors are inherently biased. He says that 70 percent of defectors in South Korea are unemployed, and selling sensationalist stories is a way for them to make a living. He also states that the overwhelming majority of defectors come from North Hamgyong Province, one of North Korea's poorest provinces, and often have a grudge against Pyongyang and provinces nearby. He states that defectors in South Korea's resettlement process tailor their accounts over time to become less mundane and more propagandistic. He criticizes journalists and academics for not being skeptical about even the most outlandish claims made by defectors. [37] : 117–18  Similarly, academic Hyung Gu Lynn has commented that some defectors embellish or fabricate their stories to sell books or lobby for regime change. [54] Representatives of the defector community in South Korea have also expressed concern about the unreliability of defector testimony. [55]

The journalist Jiyoung Song has said that she has encountered numerous inconsistent stories when researching defectors over sixteen years. She noted that cash payments for interviews are standard, and have increased over the years. The more exclusive or emotional the story is, the higher the payment. [56] Other South Korean journalists have accused defectors of producing fantasies for money. [25]

After extensively interviewing Shin Dong-hyuk, a prominent defector, the journalist Blaine Harden wrote in 2012 that, "There was, of course, no way to confirm what he was saying. Shin was the only available source of information about his early life". According to Harden, Shin confessed that his original story about his mother, told in interviews to South Korea's National Intelligence Service and others, and in his memoir, was not true: "Shin said he had been lying about his mother's escape. He invented the lie just before arriving in South Korea." [57] In January 2015, Harden announced that Shin had admitted that the account of his life that he had given Harden was also false. [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] Analyst Andrei Lankov commented that "some suspicions had been confirmed when Shin suddenly admitted what many had hitherto suspected", described Harden's book as unreliable, and noted that defectors faced considerable psychological pressure to embroider their stories. [63]

In 2017, Chun Hye Sung, a defector who had been a guest on several South Korean TV shows using the name Lim Ji-hyun, returned to the North. On North Korean TV, she said that she had been pressured into fabricating stories detrimental to North Korea. [64] The South Korean broadcaster denied her claims, and some observers suggested she was speaking under duress. [65]

Political bias

The Korean DMZ, viewed from the north. The political division of Korea continues to affect the media coverage of North Korea. Joint Security Area, Korean DMZ, looking south.jpg
The Korean DMZ, viewed from the north. The political division of Korea continues to affect the media coverage of North Korea.

Since the Korean War (1950–1953), North and South Korea have confronted each other over the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with a permanent American garrison force situated in the south. Factual reporting can be a casualty of this cold war. [4] Journalists and media experts in South Korea have concluded that political hostility distorts media coverage. [21] According to Damin Jung of NK News writing in 2017, South Korea had the potential to deliver accurate reportage, but was in fact the source of some of the most unreliable coverage. Journalists operated according to a wartime mindset, which moderated in times of detente. Overall, reporting was strongly influenced by the political climate in South Korea. South Korean journalists were generally prohibited from accessing North Korean media and few have been to the North. Reports were shallow and poorly researched. Corrections to reports about North Korea were practically unknown in South Korea. [25]

North Korean authorities have attributed erroneous reporting on the country to disinformation spread by South Korea and the United States. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a DPRK-backed organisation, has accused the Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean newspaper, of employing "hack journalists" who intentionally report false information at the behest of the South Korean government. [66] The American journalist Barbara Demick has made a similar criticism. [51] After the breakdown of talks with Donald Trump in Hanoi, Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim Jong Un's negotiating team had been executed or sent to labour camps. [67] However, lead negotiator Kim Yong-chol appeared at a function shortly afterwards. [68] [69]

Often the information release route is that the South Korean National Intelligence Service briefs South Korean politicians, who then brief the media, providing the possibility of misunderstanding especially to reporters eager for lurid stories. [70] South Korean officials routinely brief the media anonymously, so there is no accountability if the information is later found to be incorrect. [19] Moreover, the NIS has been accused of disseminating unverified information — such as the false report of the execution of General Ri Yong-gil — which supports the depiction of North Korea as a dangerous and unstable country. [71] According to American historian Bruce Cumings, South Korean intelligence services have a long history of providing disinformation to foreign journalists. [72]

The South Korean National Security Act has been used to restrict academic freedom and discussion on North Korean topics according to Amnesty International. According to their report the law has been used to imprison people for publishing pro-North Korean material online. [73] The National Security Act has historically been utilized to block South Koreans from viewing US-based news websites focused on North Korea. Among these were NK News in 2014, [74] and North Korea Tech in 2016. [75] [76]

Korean studies analyst Andrei Lankov argues that the mainstream media suppresses stories about relative improvements in North Korea to avoid giving support to its government, or being perceived to do so. [77]

In June 2013, Washington Post blogger Max Fisher reported claims by New Focus International, a website run by North Korean defectors, that Kim Jong Un had distributed copies of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf to other members of the North Korean government. [78] This made the Post the first major media outlet to repeat those rumors, which had been spreading among North Korean defectors in China. [79] In response, scholars Andrei Lankov and Fyodor Tertitskiy pointed out that the story was extremely unlikely: the Soviet influence on history textbooks in North Korea and the fact that Nazi Germany was allied with the Japanese Empire (which had colonized Korea) meant that North Koreans deplored Nazi Germany, and indeed the North Korean state media itself sometimes compared South Korean or American leaders to Hitler. [79] [80] Lankov suggested that the eagerness with which media outlets accepted the story pointed to a "simplistic view of the world" in which "the bad guys are also united and share a bad, repressive ideology", while Tertitskiy condemned the rumors as distracting attention from serious news reporting and detracting from its credibility. Both Lankov and Tertitskiy described the rumor as an example of Godwin's law. [79] [80] Fisher himself would later criticize U.S. media outlets for their "high degree of gullibility" in reporting on North Korea. [81]

Cultural misunderstandings

A statue of the mythological kirin or "Chinese unicorn", which North Korea never claimed existed QingQilin.jpg
A statue of the mythological kirin or "Chinese unicorn", which North Korea never claimed existed

In 2012, a number of international media outlets reported that North Korea had claimed to have discovered evidence of unicorns. [82] [83] In reporting on the purported announcement, U.S. News & World Report somberly declared it to be "the latest in a series of myths trumpeted by North Korean news sources." [84] Subsequent analysis of the original DPRK statement, however, showed that the announcement involved the archaeological discovery of the "unicorn lair," or kiringul , a poetic term for an archaeological site associated with the ancient capital of King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo, and that neither North Korean academics nor media had ever claimed the literal existence of unicorns. [85]

Following the death of Kim Jong Il, many media reported on scenes broadcast by North Korean press that showed North Korean citizens crying hysterically. Writing in the New Yorker Philip Gourevitch declared the grieving was obviously fake and indicative of the "madness of the Kims' grim dominion over North Korea," while Bill O'Reilly stated that mourners had been "paid in hamburgers." [86] Writing on CNN, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch claimed North Koreans were required by the DPRK government to cry and their "only alternative is to flee". [87] However, wild expressions of grief — including extreme sobbing and fist pounding — are an accepted part of Korean Confucian culture and can regularly be seen in South Korea as well. [88] In fact, during the funeral procession for South Korean president Park Chung Hee, thousands of South Korean women were pictured "screaming, wailing and shaking their fists at heaven." [89] Korea expert B.R. Myers has observed that sadness expressed by North Koreans on learning of the passing of Kim Jong Il was probably "genuine". [90]

Sensationalism

Hyon Song-wol, still alive in 2018 North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra director Hyon Song-wol.jpg
Hyon Song-wol, still alive in 2018

In the absence of solid facts, some reports are based on sensationalist claims, distortions, and unsubstantiated rumors. [4] [3] Many of these stories emanate from South Korea. [22] [23] John Delury from Yonsei University has argued that there is a demand for sensationalist news about North Korea: "There's a global appetite for any North Korea story and the more salacious the better. Some of it is probably true – but a great deal of it is probably not...the normal standards of journalism are thrown out of the window because the attitude is: 'it's North Korea – no one knows what's going on in there.'" [36] Australian academic Jeffrey Robertson has said that North Korea is an "easy target" for media organisations driven by clickbait and soundbite. [91] Jean Lee, the former Associated Press Pyongyang bureau chief commented that "when it comes to North Korea, the more horrible, the more salacious, the more entertaining, the more it fits into the narrative as the North Koreans being these insane outliers", the more likely it is to be published. [52] Author and retired British diplomat James Hoare wrote, "The main emphasis in British coverage of North Korea is on the odd and the peculiar." [92]

The Washington Post 's Max Fisher has written that, in regard to North Korea, "almost any story is treated as broadly credible, no matter how outlandish or thinly sourced." Fisher quoted Isaac Stone Fish of Foreign Policy joking that "as an American journalist you can write almost anything you want about North Korea and people will just accept it". [81] Isaac Stone Fish himself admitted to painting a picture of North Korea in the grip of a drug epidemic with very little hard evidence to back it up. [15] [37] : 107  According to Chad O'Carroll of NK News , these stories have a tendency to go "viral". They are very attractive to online news organizations because they lure traffic to their websites. They also spread rapidly. A hoax, a mistranslation, or a line of cautious commentary can escalate into a global media sensation. [93] Even reputable news organizations are not immune. The New York Times has been criticized for repeatedly making misleading and sensationalist claims about North Korea's missile program. [38]

Kim Jong-il, who never claimed to have shot five holes-in-one in golf. Kim Jong-il on August 24, 2011.jpg
Kim Jong-il, who never claimed to have shot five holes-in-one in golf.

Over several years, many international news outlets have reported that North Korean media claimed that Kim Jong Il shot five holes in one his first time playing golf, or achieved some other improbable score. [94] [95] [96] The implication of the story is that the North Korean government attributes superhuman feats to its leaders as part of a cult of personality. Despite the wide propagation of the story, no North Korea media source for the report has ever been produced. NK News reports that "informal surveys of North Koreans themselves revealed that no one in Pyongyang was aware of this legendary feat, unless told it by a tourist." [97] Richard Seers, a British journalist who played at the Pyongyang Golf Club, asked officials there, who indicated it was nothing more than an urban myth. [98] The Korea Times has traced the story to Australian journalist Eric Ellis, who heard the tall story from the club professional at Pyongyang Golf Club in 1994. [99]

Kim Chol was a Vice Minister of Defense who was allegedly purged and executed by a mortar round for "drinking and carousing" during the period of mourning for Kim Jong Il. The story, originally reported by the Chosun Ilbo, was picked up by the world's media. [100] [101] However, subsequent analysis by Foreign Policy determined the claims most likely originated from a rumour, [102] and NK News observed the story "demonstrates how a single anonymous source can generate a story in the South Korean press, which then gets escalated into all-caps certainties for news outlets such as the Daily Mail." [97]

On 29 August 2013, The Chosun Ilbo reported that North Korean singer Hyon Song-wol was executed by firing squad, together with eleven other performers, including members of the Unhasu Orchestra and Wangjaesan Light Music Band, on the orders of North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. [103] The story was reported worldwide. It was claimed she was Kim Jong Un's ex-girlfriend, and that she and the others had made pornographic videos. [104] [105] [106] North Korea's KCNA denied claims that the singer was executed, and a Japanese news magazine reported that she was seen subsequently. [36] On 16 May 2014, Hyon appeared on North Korean television participating in the National Convention of Artists, disproving the rumors. [107] [108] [109]

FAIR criticized The Washington Post for covering a sensationalist story about the alleged execution of general Hyon Yong-chol due to questionable sources and circumstances of information with sole source being South Korea's NIS. [110] South Korean lawmakers questioned NIS's claim of Hyon's execution, [111] and a spokesman said reports should be taken as rumors. [112]

From 2013 onwards, there was a stream of reports that Kim Jong Un's aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, had died from a stroke or a heart attack or had been poisoned by Kim Jong Un. [113] In January 2020, she appeared in North Korean media, attending a lunar new year concert with Kim Jong Un. [114]

In April 2020, a three-week absence from public view led to speculation that Kim Jong Un was seriously ill or even dead. [115] [116] In August, rumors circulated that he was in a coma and that the photographs of him carrying out his duties were faked. [117] [118]

In May 2020, South Korean media reported on the "myth" that Kim Il Sung could teleport. This was traced back to a comment by Kim in 1945, in which, commenting on his guerrilla days, he denied he could teleport. [27]

Stereotypes and caricatures

According to Gianluca Spezza of NK News , overused stereotypical labels applied to North Korea like "Hermit Kingdom", "secretive" and "unpredictable" make for "catchy headlines and are an easy sell". [119] Analyst Andrei Lankov observed that "Tales of North Korean lunacy are never far from the front pages", but argued that the depiction of the regime as irrational is false and potentially disastrous. [120] This, combined with limitations on reporting in the country, leads to many stories becoming little more than repetitions of clichés. [39] According to American historian Bruce Cumings, the same kinds of stories have been circulating since North Korea was founded, repeated endlessly like the footage of military parades. [72] Overall, the media portrayal of North Korea has been described as a "cartoon caricature". [49] [121] [122]

Some defectors have commented that the media depiction of North Korea is sometimes ridiculously different from the country that they lived in. [123] Several visitors have reported that the North Korea that they experienced was worlds away from the barren landscapes, starving people, and goose-stepping troops portrayed in the media. [37] : 59–66  [124]

Media coverage of Kim Jong Un has tended to treat him as a caricature, calling him "fat boy" and depicting him as a baby. He is portrayed as childish and irrational, prone to dangerous tantrums. According to scholar Jung H. Pak, this led to misunderstandings that distort public discussion. [125]

False predictions

Due to the limited information, it is hard to make accurate predictions about North Korea. North Korea's collapse has been predicted for decades, for example, after the Korean War, during the economic collapse in the 1990s, after Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, after Kim Jong Il's death in 2011, and after rumours of Kim Jong Un's death in 2020. [126]

According to analyst Daniel R Depetris, the media often cherry-pick the most sensational prediction. On 3 December 2019, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae-song rhetorically asked what kind of "Christmas gift" the US wanted from North Korea. Many media outlets interpreted this as saying that North Korea was going to test an ICBM on Christmas Day, but nothing eventuated. [127]

Hoaxes and satire

Serious news organizations have occasionally mistaken hoaxes and satire for genuine stories. [128] [129] In June 2016, South Korea's financial markets were shaken by reports of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which originated from a parody news website. [130]

In 2013, a short film titled How Americans Live was widely disseminated on the Internet. The film showed images, supposedly of the United States, with a stilted English narration making over-the-top claims about various depredations experienced in American society, such as people being forced to eat snow for sustenance. Spencer Ackerman of Wired called the film a "North Korean propaganda video" while the Washington Post , in its analysis, declared the video's message to be "consistent with North Korean propaganda". It was subsequently revealed the film was a satirical video created by British travel writer Alun Hill. [131]

Following the 2013 arrest and execution of DPRK official Jang Sung-taek on charges of corruption, some media outlets reported he had been eaten alive by a pack of ravenous dogs on the orders of Kim Jong Un. [132] [133] After the reports began to gain traction, Trevor Powell, a Chicago-based software engineer, discovered the story had originated from the blog of a Chinese satirist. [134] [135] In the wake of the revelation, some media retracted their original stories.

In 2014, Brazilian humorist Maurício Cid created a fake YouTube channel called "Korea News Backup" that supposedly uploaded videos from North Korean television. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the channel posted videos of North Korea defeating the teams from the United States, China, Japan, among others, and winning the championship in a 8-1 match against Brazil. [136] Many international media outlets reported those videos as "government propaganda" from North Korea, such as Daily Mirror , Metro , CBC and Toronto Sun . [137] Cid later revealed the hoax and how it was made, and published a final video on the YouTube channel. [138]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Korea</span> Country in East Asia

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Jong Il</span> Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011

Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea. He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ko Yong-hui</span> Mother of Kim Jong-un (1952–2004)

Ko Yong Hui, also spelled Ko Young-hee, was the mistress of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il and the mother of his successor, Kim Jong Un. Within North Korea, she is only referred to by titles, such as "The Respected Mother who is the Most Faithful and Loyal 'Subject' to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander", "The Mother of Pyongyang", and "The Mother of Great Songun Korea".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Il Sung University</span> Public university in North Korea

Kim Il Sung University (Korean: 김일성종합대학) is a public university in Taesong, Pyongyang, North Korea. Founded on 1 October 1946, it is the first institution of higher learning in North Korea since its foundation.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Jong Un</span> Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011

Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since December 2011 and the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was the second supreme leader of North Korea, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder and first supreme leader of the country.

The Kippumjo, sometimes spelled Kippeumjo, is an unconfirmed collection of groups of approximately 2,000 women and girls reportedly maintained by the leader of North Korea for the purpose of providing entertainment, including that of a sexual nature, for high-ranking Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) officials and their families, as well as, occasionally, distinguished guests.

<i>Daily NK</i> South Korean online newspaper

Daily NK is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 177 out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyongyang (restaurant chain)</span> North Korean restaurant chain

Pyongyang (Korean: 평양관) is a restaurant chain named after the capital of North Korea, with around 130 locations worldwide. The restaurants are owned and operated by the Haedanghwa Group, an organization of the government of North Korea.

Kim Kyong-hui is the aunt of current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong Il. She currently serves as Secretary for Organization of the Workers' Party of Korea. An important member of Kim Jong Il's inner circle of trusted friends and advisors, she was director of the WPK Light Industry Department from 1988 to 2012. She was married to Jang Song-thaek, who was executed in December 2013 in Pyongyang, after being charged with treason and corruption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyon Song-wol</span> Musical artist

Hyon Song-wol is a North Korean singer, band leader, and politician. She is the leader of the Moranbong Band and of the Samjiyon Orchestra. She was formerly a featured vocalist for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in the early 2000s, a pop group which found fame in North Korea in the late 1980s and 1990s. She has been a member in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unhasu Orchestra</span> 2009–2013 North Korean music group

The Unhasu Orchestra was a musical group based in Pyongyang, North Korea. It performed primarily with Western instruments, sometimes performing alongside traditional Korean soloists. The orchestra has a concert hall, the Unhasu Theater in Pyongyang, dedicated for its use. Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim Jong-un, was a singer in this group. According to ex-North Korean senior government official Thae Yong-ho, the orchestra was disbanded on the 12th August 2013.

NK News is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with reporters in Washington, D.C., and London. Reporting is based on information collected from in-country sources, recently returned western visitors to North Korea, stories filed by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), interviews with defectors, and reports published by NGOs and western governments. The site's founder and Managing Director is Chad O'Carroll, a former employee of the German Marshall Fund, who has written on North Korea and North Korea issues for The Daily Telegraph.

Mass surveillance in North Korea is a routine practice employed throughout the country. North Korea "operates a vast network of informants who monitor and report to the authorities fellow citizens they suspect of criminal or subversive behavior." North Korea has been described as a "massive police state", and its people "under constant surveillance".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconnaissance General Bureau</span> North Korean intelligence agency

The Reconnaissance General Bureau, part of the General Staff Department, is a North Korean intelligence agency that manages the state's clandestine operations. Most of their operations have a specific focus on Japan, South Korea, and the United States. It was established in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking in North Korea</span>

Tobacco smoking is popular in North Korea and culturally acceptable among men, but not for women. As of 2019, some 43.6% of men are reported to smoke daily, whilst in contrast only 4.5% of women smoke daily, with most of these being older women from rural areas. Smoking is a leading cause of death in North Korea, and as of 2021 mortality figures indicate that 14.2% of north koreans die due to smoking-related causes, which is the 6th highest rate after China, Greenland, Kiribati, Denmark and Micronesia. There are tobacco control programs in North Korea, and although smoking was not prohibited in all public spaces, the smoking rates have declined since their peak in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thae Yong-ho</span> South Korean politician (born 1962)

Tae Yong-ho, also known by his pseudonym Tae Ku-min, is a North Korean-born South Korean politician and former diplomat who is serving as a member of the National Assembly for the Gangnam district of Seoul. After studying abroad in Beijing, China, for a decade, he became North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, prior to defecting with his family to South Korea in 2016. In August 2016, the South Korean government confirmed that Thae and his family were under their protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portraits</span> Mandatory depictions of the North Korean rulers

Visual depictions of Kim Il Sung have been commonplace in North Korea since the 1940s following the example of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong in China. The display of Kim Il Sung portraits was made mandatory at homes in the 1970s. In the past, they were mandatory in certain public places as well, such as factories, airports, railway stations, and rail and subway carriages. At present, they no longer appear in means of transport, not even in some new buildings. Portraits of Kim Jong Il have been hung next to Kim Il Sung since the late 1970s. A portrait of Kim Jong Un was displayed for the first time in public in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea was part of a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). North Korea confirmed its first case on 8 May 2022.

Immigration to North Korea occurs when Koreans and others move to North Korea and make it their permanent home. Often this is considered a defection because these immigrants have, in the terms of the Cold War, switched allegiance. This group is in contrast to the much larger group of North Korean defectors who have left North Korea.

References

  1. ↑ "Purges and piranhas: Why we love a crazy North Korea story". BBC News . Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  2. ↑ "Hyperbole, sensationalism and surreal stories about North Korea - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tania Branigan (15 October 2014). "North Korea: What drives the story: reporting facts or seeking sensation?" (PDF). International Institute of Korean Studies.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 Anna Broinowski (1 June 2015). "True or false: the 'kooky' North Korea stories they couldn't make up – but did". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Tizzard, David (1 March 2022). "Review: Offering red pill about North Korea, new book instead jettisons truth". NK News.
  6. ↑ Leo Byrne (9 October 2014). "What do journalists think about reporting on North Korea?". NK News . Archived from the original on 10 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Alfred, Charlotte (28 April 2014). "10 Of The Craziest Rumors From North Korea, Fact-Checked". The World Post. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016.
  8. 1 2 Green, Christopher (25 July 2012). "Beware the North Korean Rumor Mill: Chris Green on Sourcing and Quality of Borderlands Information". Sino-NK. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Ri Yong-gil, North Korean general thought to be executed, is actually alive". The Washington Times. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Zegart, Amy (9 July 2017). "Kim Jong Un: The Hardest Intelligence Target". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Frontline. Kim's Nuclear Gamble. Interview: Donald Gregg". PBS. 20 February 2003. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017.
  12. ↑ Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. p. 48. ISBN   9780465031238.
  13. ↑ Frank, Rüdiger (July 16, 2012). "A Question of Interpretation: Economic Statistics From and About North Korea". 38 North . Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  14. ↑ Ernst, Maximilian; Jurowetzki, Roman (2016). "Satellite Data, Women Defectors and Black Markets in North Korea: A Quantitative Study of the North Korean Informal Sector Using Night-Time Lights Satellite Imagery". North Korean Review . 12 (2): 64–83. ISSN   1551-2789. JSTOR   44526826 – via JSTOR.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Stone Fish, Isaac (8 August 2011). "The Black Hole of North Korea". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "North Korea's dismal level of press freedom". Daily NK . 22 September 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Shearlaw, Maeve; experts, North Korea (13 May 2014). "Mythbusters: uncovering the truth about North Korea". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016.
  18. ↑ Lankov, Andrei (28 December 2016). "Facts unknown: Navigating North Korea's elephant in the dark". NK News . Archived from the original on 29 December 2016.
  19. 1 2 Justin Rohrlich (22 January 2014). "Inside the North Korea Rumor Mill". NK News . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  20. ↑ Cumings, Bruce (2003). North Korea: Another Country . The New Press. p. xii. ISBN   9781565848733.
  21. 1 2 Ha-young Choi (10 August 2015). "S. Korean journalists lament low-quality N. Korea reporting". NK News . Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 Taylor, Adam (29 August 2013). "Why You Shouldn't Necessarily Trust Those Reports Of Kim Jong-un Executing His Ex-Girlfriend". businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  23. 1 2 O'Carroll, Chad (6 January 2014). "North Korea's invisible phone, killer dogs and other such stories - why the world is transfixed". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  24. ↑ Foster-Carter, Aidan (28 April 2020). "Nothing to See Here? How Not to React to North Korea Rumors". 38 North . The Henry L. Stimson Center. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Jung, Damin (14 September 2017). "Why South Korean media so often misses the mark on North Korea". NK News .
  26. ↑ Pierson, David (22 April 2020). "Rumors of North Korean leader's ill health often abound — but facts don't". Los Angeles Times .
  27. 1 2 Weiser, Martin (3 October 2020). "Nobody ever said Kim Il-sung could teleport". East Asia Forum.
  28. ↑ "Publications". Institute of Far Eastern Studies.
  29. ↑ "Kim Jong-un warns over North Korea typhoon and coronavirus" BBC News. August 26, 2020.
  30. ↑ McGrath, Ciaran (24 August 2020). "Kim Jong-un dead and sister poised for North Korea takeover experts say after clue spotted". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  31. ↑ Mohamed, Edna (23 August 2020). "Kim Jong-un 'in a coma as North Korea transfers powers to his sister'". metro. DMG Media . Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  32. ↑ "Annual Press Freedom Index". Reporters Without Border. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  33. ↑ "A leading press freedom predator dies". RSF. Reporters without Borders. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "North Korea". Reporters Without Borders. 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  35. ↑ "North Korean editorial supports Donald Trump | NK News". May 31, 2016.
  36. 1 2 3 "North Korea criticises 'reptile media' for saying Kim Jong-un ordered executions". The Guardian. September 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  37. 1 2 3 4 Abt, Felix (2014). A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN   9780804844390.
  38. 1 2 Pollack, Joshua (11 December 2018). "Who's deceiving whom? Open source North Korea under the microscope". NK News .
  39. 1 2 Carlin, Robert (17 May 2016). "A Second Look: Media Coverage of the 7th Workers' Party of Korea Congress". 38 North . U.S.-Korea Institute, SAIS, JHU. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  40. 1 2 Shearlaw, Maeve (5 May 2016). "Propaganda and the party congress: how to report from North Korea". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  41. ↑ Sudworth, John (9 May 2016). "BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes and team expelled from North Korea". BBC News . Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  42. ↑ Nelson, Sara C. (12 May 2014). "North Korea: The Bleak, Desperate Images Kim Jong Un Tried To Ban (PICTURES)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  43. ↑ "Alek Sigley: North Korea accuses Australian of 'spying'". BBC. 6 July 2019.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Hotham, Oliver (21 March 2019). "Havana's man in Pyongyang: Cuba's first full-time North Korea correspondent". NK News .
  45. ↑ Calderone, Michael (14 July 2014). "Associated Press North Korea Bureau Opens As First All-Format News Office In Pyongyang". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  46. ↑ Hauser, Christine (6 May 2016). "Dateline North Korea, but Still Reporting From a Distance". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  47. ↑ Carson, Biz (2013-11-01). "Uncensored Instagrams From North Korea Buck Brutal Trend of Secrecy | Raw File". Wired. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  48. ↑ "AFP opens North Korea bureau". Yahoo News. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016.
  49. 1 2 Megaloudi, Fragkiska (14 May 2016). "A General, a 'Nap' and an Execution: How the Media Report on North Korea". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016.
  50. ↑ Nilsson, Patricia (11 January 2017). "The benefits – and challenges – of verifying North Korean defector testimony". NK News . Archived from the original on 12 January 2017.
  51. 1 2 Demick, Barbara (27 January 2017). "On Firewood, Fuel, and Fake News — North Korea as a Source of Urban Legends". Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017.
  52. 1 2 Padden, Brian (2 September 2016). "Opacity, Appetite for Salacious Stories Hamper North Korea Coverage". VOA. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016.
  53. ↑ Ahn, JH (15 March 2017). "Almost half of defectors experience discrimination in the South: major survey". NK News . Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.
  54. ↑ Hyung Gu Lynn (2007). Bipolar Orders: The Two Koreas since 1989 . Zed Books. p.  94.
  55. ↑ Ha-young Choi (9 February 2016). "Should N. Korean defectors become celebrities? Exaggerated testimony, caused by difficulty to life in S. Korea, undermines trust". NK News . Archived from the original on 13 February 2016.
  56. ↑ Song, Jiyoung (13 October 2015), "Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart?", The Guardian, archived from the original on 21 December 2016
  57. ↑ Harden, Blaine (2012). Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West . Viking. pp.  46–47. ISBN   978-0-670-02332-5.
  58. ↑ Anna Fifield (17 January 2015). "Prominent N. Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk admits parts of story are inaccurate". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017.
  59. ↑ Gladstone, Rick (April 17, 2014). "U.N. Council Takes Up Question of Rights in North Korea". The New York Times . p. A3 (print edition Apr 13). Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved Aug 20, 2015.
  60. ↑ Agence France-Presse in Seoul (Jan 21, 2015). "UN dismisses North Korea's claim that damning human rights report is invalid". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved Sep 1, 2015.
  61. ↑ Choe, Sang-Hun (January 20, 2015). "North Korea Uses Defector's Partial Retraction to Lash Out at Washington". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  62. ↑ Choe, Sang-Hun (January 19, 2015). "Prominent North Korean Defector Recants Parts of His Story of Captivity". The New York Times . p. A9. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved Aug 20, 2015.
  63. ↑ Andrei Lankov (3 February 2015). "After the Shin Dong-hyuk affair: Separating fact, fiction". NK News . Archived from the original on 5 July 2015.
  64. ↑ Ahn, JH (17 July 2017). "Former TV star defector back in North Korea: state media". NK News . Archived from the original on 17 July 2017.
  65. ↑ "North Korean celebrity's homecoming: Happy to be home or was she kidnapped?". Straits Times. 23 July 2017.
  66. ↑ "DPRK Refutes Misinformation Spread by Chosun Ilbo". Archived from the original on 12 October 2014.
  67. ↑ Hjelmgaard, Kim (31 May 2019). "North Korea executes nuclear envoy to U.S. after failed Trump summit: report". USA Today.
  68. ↑ "North Korean official Kim Yong-chol, who was thought to have been sent to labour camp, appears at show, local media claims". South China Morning Post. 3 June 2019.
  69. ↑ "North Korea's former spymaster Kim Yong-chol appears at art performance with Kim Jong-un". ABC. 3 June 2019.
  70. ↑ Stephen Evans (16 May 2015). "North Korea: What should we make of latest 'execution'?". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  71. ↑ Klug, Foster (11 May 2016). "Do blunders mean South Korea's spying apparatus is broken?". AP. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016.
  72. 1 2 Cumings, Bruce (2003). North Korea: Another Country . The New Press. ISBN   9781565848733.
  73. ↑ "THE NATIONAL SECURITY LAW. CURTAILING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ASSOCIATION IN THE NAME OF SECURITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA" (PDF). Amnesty International. Amnesty International Publications. 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  74. ↑ Kim, Young-jin (January 6, 2014). "US-based website on NK blocked". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  75. ↑ Lee, Youkyung (April 5, 2016). "UK journalist to appeal as Seoul blocks his site on N. Korea". The Associated Press. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  76. ↑ O'Carroll, Chad (April 4, 2016). "Two N.Korea-focused websites blocked by S.Korean government". NK News . Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  77. ↑ Andrei Lankov (23 September 2011). "It's not all doom and gloom in Pyongyang". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2011-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  78. ↑ Fisher, Max (2013-06-17). "Report: Kim Jong Un handing out copies of 'Mein Kampf' to senior North Korean officials". Washington Post WorldViews Blog. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  79. 1 2 3 Lankov, Andrei (2013-06-21). "Mein Kampf has little to offer a North Korean statesman; Why everyone was so easily persuaded by the idea of Kim Jong Un and his Hitler fantasy". NK News . Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  80. 1 2 Tertitskiy, Fyodor (2015-02-11). "Why Kim doesn't love Hitler, and why this matters; Crude rumors to demonize Pyongyang will backfire, and will ultimately strengthen the regime". NK News . Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  81. 1 2 Fisher, Max (3 January 2014). "No, Kim Jong Un probably didn't feed his uncle to 120 hungry dogs". Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014.
  82. ↑ "Eight things people get wrong about North Korea". BBC. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  83. ↑ Boehler, Patrick (30 November 2012). "Unicorns' Existence Proven, Says North Korea". Time. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016.
  84. ↑ Koebler, Jason (30 November 2012). "North Korea Says It's Found a 'Unicorn Lair'". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  85. ↑ Davis, Lauren (12 November 2012). "No, the North Korean government did not claim it found evidence of unicorns". io9.com. IO9. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  86. ↑ Hartenstein, Meena (6 January 2014). "Kim Jong Il dead: North Koreans cry in streets to mourn leader, but are the tears real". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  87. ↑ Sifton, John (22 December 2011). "North Korean mourners, crying to survive?". cnn.com. CNN. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  88. ↑ Sang-hun, Choe (20 December 2011). "North Korea's Tears: A Blend of Cult, Culture and Coercion". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  89. ↑ Martin, Bradley (20 December 2011). "Why the North Koreans cry". globalpost.com. Global Post. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  90. ↑ "B.R. Myers addresses allegations of fake mourning and self image in North Korea". scpr.org. Southern California Public Radio. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  91. ↑ Robertson, Jeffrey (4 May 2020). "North Korea: between fact and fiction". East Asia Forum.
  92. ↑ James E. Hoare (5 October 2016). "Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea". 38 North . U.S.-Korea Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  93. ↑ O'Carroll, Chad (19 November 2014). "Why North Korea attracts so much sensational media coverage". NK News . Archived from the original on 25 June 2016.
  94. ↑ Longman, Jere (20 December 2011). "Kim Jong-il, the Sportsman". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  95. ↑ "FAQ". NK News: Database of North Korean Propaganda. August 22, 2005. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015.
  96. ↑ "Golf world mourns Kim Jong-il". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 December 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016.
  97. 1 2 Abrahamian, Andray (6 December 2012). "The top ten most bizarre rumours to spread about North Korea". NK News . Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  98. ↑ Dunsmuir, Alistair (December 20, 2011). "Kim Jong Il's golf feat an 'urban myth'". Golf Club Management. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  99. ↑ Kim, Young-jin (31 October 2012). "Debunking late Kim Jong-il golf myth". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016.
  100. ↑ "North Korean Army Figure Executed As Kim Jong-un Continues Bloody Purge". International Business Times. October 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  101. ↑ Ryall, Julian (24 October 2012). "North Korean army minister 'executed with mortar round'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  102. ↑ Was a North Korean General Really Executed by Mortar Fire? Archived 2014-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
  103. ↑ "Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend 'Shot by Firing Squad'". The Chosun Ilbo . August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  104. ↑ "Hyon Song-Wol 'Pornographic' Video - Kim Jong-Un Ex-Girlfriend". Business Insider. 2013-09-05. Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  105. ↑ "Kim Jong Un's Ex-Lover Hyon Song-Wol 'Executed By North Korean Firing Squad After Making Sex Tape'". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 2013-08-29. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  106. ↑ Ryall, Julian (August 29, 2013). "Kim Jong-un's ex-lover 'executed by firing squad'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  107. ↑ Damien Mcelroy (17 May 2014). "'Executed' Kim Jong-Un girlfriend reappears on North Korea television". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  108. ↑ "Executed singer alive and well, Pyongyang TV shows - The West Australian". Au.news.yahoo.com. May 17, 2014. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  109. ↑ "North Korean singer "executed by firing squad" shows up alive and well in Pyongyang | NK News - North Korea News". NK News . Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  110. ↑ Naureckas, Jim (13 May 2015). "'Wrong as Often as Right' Is Good Enough When Reporting on an Official Enemy". FAIR.
  111. ↑ Shim, Elizabeth (13 May 2015). "North Korea defense chief was purged, maybe not executed, says Seoul's spy agency". UPI.
  112. ↑ "Defense chief Hyon Yong Chol replaced, confirms Pyongyang". North Korea Times. 14 July 2015.
  113. ↑ Hancocks, Paula (11 May 2015). "Kim ordered aunt poisoned: N. Korean defector". CNN.
  114. ↑ Hotham, Oliver (25 January 2020). "Kim Jong Un's aunt, once reported killed, makes first appearance in six years". NK News.
  115. ↑ Sang-Hun, Choe (1 May 2020). "Kim Jong-un Resurfaces, State Media Says, After Weeks of Health Rumors". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  116. ↑ O'Carroll, Chad (22 May 2020). "Amid health rumors, Kim Jong Un absent for two consecutive three-week periods". NK News.
  117. ↑ Zwirko, Colin; Kim, Jeongmin (24 August 2020). "Rumors explained: Is Kim Jong Un really in a coma? Will Kim Yo Jong take over?". NK News.
  118. ↑ Bicker, Laura (26 August 2020). "Kim Jong-un warns over North Korea typhoon and coronavirus". BBC.
  119. ↑ Gianluca Spezza (20 November 2013). "Three unhelpful but common exaggerations about North Korea". NK News . Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  120. ↑ Lankov, Andrei (26 April 2017). "Kim Jong Un Is a Survivor, Not a Madman". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017.
  121. ↑ Smith, Hazel (27 April 2015). "Dangerous, isolated and primed for war? North Korean clichés debunked". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016.
  122. ↑ "People Must See Past Media's Portrayal of North Korea, Cumings Says - the Heights". 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  123. ↑ Jung, Ha-won (13 January 2014). "Hyperbole, sensationalism and surreal stories about North Korea". Tapei Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  124. ↑ Allison Quinn (5 August 2014). "Letter to Kim Jong-un Takes Russian Schoolgirl to North Korea". Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
  125. ↑ Pak, Jung H (February 2018). "The education of Kim Jong-un". Brookings Institution.
  126. ↑ Klug, Foster (1 May 2020). "Outsiders consider possibility of chaos in North Korea". AP.
  127. ↑ Depetris, Daniel (30 December 2019). "North Korea's "Christmas Gift" That Wasn't". 38 North.
  128. ↑ Fifield, Anna (21 April 2016). "North Korea's news service barely needs to be spoofed, but this duo nails it". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  129. ↑ Rohrlich, Justin (10 July 2017). "The Men Behind the Infamous Fake North Korean Twitter Account". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017.
  130. ↑ Ahn, JH (17 June 2016). "False alarm on Kim Jong Un's death shakes South Korea". NK News . Archived from the original on 18 June 2016.
  131. ↑ "'How Americans Live Today': Fake North Korean Propaganda Video Punks The Internet". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  132. ↑ "Report alleging North Korean execution by hungry dogs was likely false". NBC News. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  133. ↑ Hughes, Chris; Cockerton, Paul (3 January 2014). "Kim Jong-Un's uncle stripped naked and fed to 120 starving dogs as tyrant watched". Mirror. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016.
  134. ↑ "Jang Song Thaek Eaten By Dog Story Likely Came From Satire". Huffington Post. Reuters. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  135. ↑ John Sudworth (6 January 2014). "A cautionary tale of dogs, imposters and North Korea". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  136. ↑ Wilkson, Adriano (2014-09-22). "Corintiano criou mentiras sobre o Santos, Galvão e a Coreia só pela zoeira". www.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  137. ↑ White, Alan (2014-07-13). "No, North Korean Media Is Not Telling Its People They're In The World Cup Final". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  138. ↑ Cid, Mauricio (2014-07-24). "Desafio Aceito 25 – Fazer da Coréia do Norte campeã da Copa!" [Challenge Accepted 25 - Make North Korea World Cup Champions!]. Não Salvo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2023-03-04.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.