Rodong Sinmun

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Rodong Sinmun
Chosŏn'gŭl:	로동신문
Hanja:	勞動新聞
McCune-Reischauer:	Rodong Sinmun S: Nodong Sinmun
Revised Romanization:	Rodong Sinmun S: Nodong Sinmun

Rodong Sinmun ("Newspaper of the workers") is a North Korean newspaper and the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, published by the Rodong News Agency. It is the most widely read newspaper in the country. It was first published on November 1, 1945 as Chongro (정로; 正路; "right path"), serving as a communication channel for the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea. It was renamed in September 1946 to its current name upon the steady development of the Workers' Party of Korea. Quoted frequently by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and international media, it is regarded as a source of official viewpoints on many issues.

Published on every day of the year and usually containing six pages, a typical day's Rodong Sinmun consists of the following:

First page: The movements of Kim Jong Il, the country's leader, and an editorial.
Second page: Educational material on communism.
Third page: Domestic economic affairs.
Fourth page: National and international news.
Fifth page: Condemnation of South Korea.
Sixth page: Condemnation of the United States and Japan.

The editorial, where the Workers' Party expresses its view on different issues, and commands passed down by the party are usually regarded as the most important pieces of information. There is typically no content in such areas as lifestyle, or TV, radio and other entertainment. It is said that it has a hundred or so reporters, and the cutoff time for publishing articles is noon on the day before the scheduled publication date. The newspapers are mainly delivered to organisations such as schools, cooperative farms and working places, but for those in high positions in the government or the party there can be individual deliveries.

On January 1st, 2006 the paper printed a joint-editorial calling for the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. While annual January 1st editorials are a tradition among the papers, this year's brought attention from Western media outlets, by calling for a "nationwide campaign for driving out the U.S. troops".[1] The editorial made several references to Korean reunification.

1 About the spelling of the name
2 See also
3 External links
4 References

[edit] About the spelling of the name

South Korean media often spell the name as Rodong Shinmun, due to the South Korean modification on the McCune-Reischauer romanisation for the 시 Hangul Jamo combination from si to shi. However, as used by North Korea and other international media, its official English name is Rodong Sinmun, just as it would be using the McCune-Reischauer system.

Rodong Sinmun is based on the North Korean pronunciation. In South Korean dialect it becomes Nodong Sinmun.