Voice of Korea

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For the Montreal local radio program see Voice of Korea (Montreal)
Voice of Korea
Type Radio network
Country Flag of North Korea North Korea
Availability International
Owner Government of North Korea
Launch date October 14, 1945

Voice of Korea is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Korean, Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Arabic. Until 2002 it was known as Radio Pyongyang.

Voice of Korea broadcasts on HF or shortwave radio frequencies, including some lower frequencies receivable on common AM radios for broadcasts aimed at neighboring countries. Some frequencies broadcast are well out of the ITU allocated shortwave broadcast bands, making them less susceptible to interference but less likely to be listenable on older receivers.

Unlike most international broadcasters, "Voice of Korea" does not broadcast an interval signal in the minutes leading up to the start of the transmission. It instead starts broadcasting the interval signal (the first few notes of the "Song of General Kim Il Sung") on the hour. This is interspersed by the station identification and is followed by the North Korean national anthem. On or around important state anniversaries (birth anniversaries of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il, or the anniversary of the founding of the DRPK), this is often followed by the "Song of General Kim Il Sung" and the "Song of General Kim Jong Il". A news bulletin is then broadcast, with items all from the Korean Central News Agency. If there are stories related in any way to Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il, these will always top the bulletin. Apart from this, VOK broadcasts generally consist of stories about the lives and achievements of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, praise for the Kims and the DPRK from foreigners, programmes about Korean culture, history, music, etc.

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