Censorship in North Korea

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North Korea is at the very bottom of the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, in 2006 North Korea was listed the last of 168 countries.^[1] All media are strictly controlled by the government. The national media dedicates a large portion of its resources toward political propaganda and promoting the personality cult of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il.^[2] In addition, the media is said to make false claims, and the use of the United States, Christianity, and much of the Western World as a scapegoat is common. For instance, the North Korean media claim that the United States started the Korean War, which Soviet archives show to have started with a premeditated invasion from the north.^[3]

Radio or television sets which can be bought in North Korea are pre-set to receive only the government frequencies and sealed with a label to prevent tampering with the equipment. It is a serious criminal offence to manipulate the sets and receive radio or television broadcasts from outside North Korea. In a party campaign in 2003, the head of each party cell in neighbourhoods and villages received instructions to verify the seals on all radio sets.^{[citation needed]}

As North and South Korea use different television systems (SECAM and NTSC respectively), it is not possible to view broadcasts across the border between the two countries; however, in areas bordering China, it has reportedly been possible to receive television from that country.^{[citation needed]}

According to the "Daily NK", it is possible to broadcast news for North Korea through short wave radio. Possessing a short wave radio is against the law in North Korea, but the radios are allegedly confiscated and resold by corrupted agents of secret police.^{[citation needed]}