South Korea’s unification ministry is discussing measures to permit public access to the Rodong Sinmun, the primary newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Worker’s Party, and other North Korean materials. Currently, access to North Korean media in South Korea, including the Rodong Sinmun, is restricted as they are considered “special materials” due to concerns about potential propaganda content.
President Lee Jae Myung criticized the ban on public access to North Korean materials, stating that it implies mistrust in the public’s ability to discern propaganda. Following this, the unification ministry, along with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and other agencies, is expected to meet to explore reclassifying the Rodong Sinmun as “general materials” rather than special ones.
Chang Yoon-jeong, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson, mentioned that they are contemplating ways to allow more open public access to North Korean materials. The NIS has also expressed a positive stance on reviewing measures to enable people to access such materials, emphasizing the importance of the public’s right to information and promoting inter-Korean exchanges.
The current practice allows reading the Rodong Sinmun at specific locations, like the ministry’s North Korea information center, after verifying the applicant’s identity and purpose. If reclassified as general information, South Koreans could easily access the newspaper in print form, although online access would remain restricted. Additionally, the NIS plans to consider lifting the ban on online access to North Korea-related websites, which is currently limited by the Information and Communications Network Act.
