The coverage of North Korea in the media is hampered by the lack of reliable information for several reasons. Access to the media in the country is strictly limited. The key to information about the DPRK is the testimony of defectors, but their information may be inaccurate. A large flow of information about North Korea is filtered through South Korea , and the long-standing conflict between the two countries distorts the information obtained. Failure to understand the nuances of Korean culture can also lead to inaccuracies and omissions. In the absence of convincing evidence, some media outlets make sensational statements based on rumors and clichés. Some stories are based on hoax and clichés.
Lack of reliable information
The media are in difficulty due to the lack of reliable sources. [1] [2] Verification of the facts is notoriously difficult. [3] For example, researcher Christopher Green described an attempt to confirm the story that Vice-Marshal Lee Young Ho was killed in a shootout in Pyongyang in 2012, but could not find a source that would have covered the incident. [4] Even the security services are struggling with this problem - the lack of reliable information. [5] [6] Former US ambassador to South Korea, national security adviser and CIA officer Donald Gregg described North Korea as "the longest-playing reconnaissance failure in the history of American espionage." [7] Former CIA Director Robert Gates called him "the most difficult intelligence target in the world." [eight]
Isaac Stone Fish, Foreign Policy editor, described the country as an “information black hole.” [9] Such simple facts as the legality of marijuana in North Korea are difficult to verify. [10] According to the president of the Pacific Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ralph Kossa, “anyone who says that he knows something about North Korea is probably deceiving himself or others.” Analyst Andrei Lankov compared information about North Korea with a parable about the blind and the elephant , where analysts mistakenly extrapolated limited data. [11] Several authors referred to the North Korean "damaged telephone". [12] [13] [14] South Korean journalists and media experts called this a “systemic problem.” [15]
Due to the popularity of news from North Korea, data is often widely distributed in the global media with minimal evidence and is not analyzed. [16] [17] Often, journalists treat the reporting of information uncritically, because they consider it impossible to verify. [18] South Korean journalists describe a vicious cycle where rumors reported in South Korea are picked up by the international media and then presented to the South Korean media as a fact. [18]
Tanya Branigan, a correspondent for The Guardian , said that "there are few international topics about which there are so many publications with such a disregard for the truth from the media, with a wide range of opinions and different quality of presentation." [19] According to Brangan, this situation arises due to a number of reasons. First, rumors about the DPRK attract many readers, editors and reporters, many of whom are tempted to spread suspicious and not the most believable stories. [19] Secondly, journalists have scarce sources of information about North Korea: “We cannot just pick up the phone and ask Pyongyang to comment on the situation, and then call several North Korean farmers to find out their opinion on this matter. Even if we ask the opinion of experts, they will only put forward hypotheses and speculate .... In the worst case, we can only find out if this is plausible or not. News feed requirements contribute to this, because today we have a system by which people come up with stories very quickly. In many cases, news sites produce very little of the original content, or do not do it at all, but they collect all the information into one and spread it. [19] Because of this, errors are copied and distributed. ” [19] Third, relatively few journalists speak Korean. Fourthly, since North Korea is an isolated country, “information is hard to refute: difficulties with access to information also mean that it is not possible to check the plausibility of rumors about the DPRK. Thus, a website or a television station can provide highly dubious data, but even when their data are questioned, it is very difficult to convincingly show their falsity. ” [19] And finally, "North Korea is so strange in many ways that it often seems that everything is possible there." [nineteen]
Restrictions on obtaining information from North Korea
The control level of the North Korean government’s mass media is one of the most severe. The main local media is the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea ( CTC ). The country has a high level of security and privacy. Communication with the outside world is limited, and at times it seems like internal communication. [9] Reporters Without Borders describes North Korea as the most closed country in the world, [20] identifying it as the last place in the press freedom index . [21]
The government of the DPRK imposes severe restrictions on foreign journalists, visitors, and even foreign compatriots. Freedom of movement is also strictly limited, interaction with local residents is controlled, and photography is largely regulated. For these reasons, it is often difficult for journalists to verify the authenticity of various rumors and find confirmation of the facts. [16] [22] Many analysts and journalists have never been to North Korea or had very limited access. As a result, their books and articles may be based on speculations and scant information obtained from unreliable sources, for example, defectors . [23]
When foreign journalists visit the country, they have problems related to the fact that North Korean and Western journalists have different ideas about the role of the media. (The situation is different from that mentioned above for Russian and Chinese journalists). North Koreans expect Western journalists to behave like Soviet journalists during the Cold War, while journalists from the West are trying to expand the boundaries of press freedom. [24] Exploring such topics as prison camps goes beyond what is permitted, and North Korean officials are often reluctant to make statements. As is the case with tourists, accompanying foreigners are always attached to foreign journalists, and all meetings with local residents are always arranged in advance. [25] Foreign journalists have access to the Internet, which makes it possible to cover events in real time. [25] Although control is strict, foreign journalists are rarely expelled from the country. [26] Photographer Erik Lafforgu was barred from returning after a series of candid photos. [27]
In 2006, the Associated Press opened a video department in Pyongyang. In 2012, it became the first Western universal branch in the country. [28] The Bureau conducts video broadcasting intermittently, and journalists can stay in the country for several weeks before permission is required again. [29] Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder has been visiting North Korea since 2000 and reports that over time the restrictions relax. In 2013, he said that he could upload photos to his Instagram profile without censorship. [thirty]
Agence France-Presse opened its office in the DPRK in 2016. By agreement with the Korea Central Telegraph Agency ( CTC ), AFP is allowed to send groups of journalists to the country. As part of the agreement, the North Korean photographer and videographer will take pictures under the supervision of AFP. [31]
Defectors
North Korean defectors are a key source of first-hand information for intelligence officials, academics, activists, and journalists. Despite the fact that their testimony is considered valuable, they are treated with a fair amount of skepticism, since it is impossible to prove the veracity of their words. [32] [33] [34] Often, the identities of defectors are not revealed for their own safety, which makes it difficult to verify information. [35] Moreover, defectors, as a rule, are far from experts on a part of North Korea. [18]
On the other hand, when, in 2017, the National Commission on Human Rights in Korea conducted an investigation, many defectors complained about the violation of privacy rights by journalists. [36]
Felix Abt, a Swiss businessman who lived in the DPRK, argues that the defectors themselves are not objective. He says that 70 percent of defectors in South Korea are unemployed, and selling sensational stories is a way to make a living. He also claims that the overwhelming majority of defectors come from Hamgyon-Pukto province , one of the poorest provinces in North Korea, and often feel displeasure and envy towards the inhabitants of Pyongyang and its environs. Felix Abt says that defectors in the process of resettlement to South Korea declare themselves over time in order to draw attention to themselves by propaganda. He criticizes journalists and scholars for referring with great interest even to the most absurd and absurd statements of defectors. [23] Academician Hyun Gyu Lin commented that some defectors deliberately embellish or invent their own stories in order to sell their books or lobby for regime change in the DPRK. [37] Representatives of the defector community in South Korea also expressed concern about the unreliability of defector testimony. [38]
Journalist Jiyoung Song said she faced many inaccuracies during investigations into defectors over sixteen years. She noted that the cash payments for interviews have increased over the years. [39] The more sensational and unusual the story, the higher the payment. Other South Korean journalists accuse defectors of inventing fantasies for money. [18]
After an intense interview in October 2012 with well-known defector , journalist Blaine Harden wrote: “Of course, there was no way to confirm his words. Sin was the only available source of information about his early life. ” According to Harden, Sin admitted that his original story about his mother, told in an interview with the National Intelligence Service of South Korea , and in his memoirs, was not true: “Sin said he lied about his mother's escape. He came up with this story before arriving in South Korea. ” [40] In January 2015, Harden announced that Sin admitted that the story of his life in an interview with Harden was also a lie. [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] Analyst Andrei Lankov commented that "some suspicions were confirmed when Shin suddenly admitted what many still suspected." Lankov described Harden's book as unreliable and unreliable and noted that the defectors faced considerable psychological pressure to invent and publish their stories. [46]
In 2017, defector Jong Hyo Son, who was a guest on several South Korean TV shows and performed under the pseudonym Lim Ji Hyun, returned to North Korea. She said on North Korean television that she was under psychological pressure to create stories that were detrimental to the image of North Korea. [47] The South Korean Broadcasting Company denied all its claims, and some observers suggested that it was spoken under duress. [48]
Political bias
After the Korean War (1950-1953), North and South Korea once again clashed with each other in the Korean demilitarized zone and with the American garrison that landed in the south of the Korean Peninsula. Actual accuracy may become a victim of this “cold war.” [3] Journalists and media experts in South Korea have concluded that political enmity greatly distorts media coverage. [15] According to Chon Da Ming from NK News , South Korea could transmit information in reports accurately, without distortion, but in fact is a distributor of rumors. Journalists act in accordance with the military moods in the country, which periodically soften. Overall, reporting is highly dependent on the political climate in South Korea. Journalists from South Korea, as a rule, blocked access to the North Korean SMIP. Information is extremely small, and they are poorly understood. In South Korea, there is practically no way that the reports on North Korea are subsequently amended. [18]
North Korean authorities attribute the dissemination of false information about the country of misinformation spread by South Korea and the United States. In particular, the Korea Reunification Peace Support Committee, supported by the DPRK, accused the large South Korean newspaper “ Chosun Ilbo ” of using “hack journalists” who deliberately report false information by order of the South Korean government. [49] American journalist Barbara Demick made a similar statement. [34]
Often the information is disseminated as follows: The South Korean Intelligence Service informs South Korean politicians, who transmit information to the media, allowing for various inaccuracies, especially needed by journalists who are thirsty for sensations. [50] South Korean officials regularly inform the media anonymously, so they are not responsible if the information is incorrect. [12] In addition, the NIS (National Intelligence Agency of South Korea) is accused of distributing unverified information, such as, for example, the false report on the execution of General Lee Yongil , in which North Korea is described as a dangerous and unstable country. [51] According to the American historian Bruce Camings, South Korean intelligence agencies have a long history of misinforming foreign journalists. [52]
Analyst Andrei Lankov argues that the popular media in South Korea deliberately do not speak about positive moments in the DPRK, so that they are not perceived as providing support to the North Korean government. [53]
In June 2013, the Washington Post blogger Max Fisher referred to statements by New Focus International , the North Korean defectors website, that Kim Jong-un distributed copies of Adolf Hitler's “ Mein Kampf ” to members of the North Korean government. [54] Thus, the Washington Post became the first major media to repeat these rumors, popular among North Korean defectors in China. [55] In response, Andrei Lankov and Fyodor Tertitsky noted that history is extremely doubtful, especially considering the Soviet influence on history textbooks in North Korea and the fact that Nazi Germany was in alliance with the Japanese empire (the colonizer of Korea), and North Korea state SMIPs sometimes compared the leaders of South Korea and the United States with Hitler. [55] [56] Lankov suggested that the urge with which the media perceive this story points to a “simplistic view of the world,” in which “the bad guys unite and share the wrong, repressive ideology”, and Tertitsky condemned the data of stuffing as distracting attention from serious news and distorting the truth. Lankov and Tertitsky described these rumors as an example of Godwin's law . [55] [56] Sam Fisher later criticized the US media for their “high degree of gullibility” about rumors of North Korea. [57]
Cultural differences
In 2012, a number of international media reported that North Korea announced the discovery of evidence for the existence of unicorns . [58] [59] Commenting on the statement, the US News & World Report grimly declared him "the latest in a series of myths broadcast by North Korean news sources." [60] A subsequent analysis of the initial statement of the DPRK revealed that in fact it was a poetic term for the archaeological site of the “Unicorn Den” or Kiringul, associated with the ancient capital of Koguryo Van Tonmyon, and that neither North Korea’s scientists nor the media of the DPRK never declared the literal existence of unicorns. [61]
After the death of Kim Jong-il, many media outlets reported on scenes broadcast by the North Korean press, in which North Korean citizens wept hysterically. In a letter to New Yorker Philippe Gurewicz, it was stated that the grief was obviously fake and demonstrates the “madness of Kim’s power over the people of North Korea”, and Bill O'Reilly said that the grieving was “paid by hamburgers”. [62] Writing to CNN, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch stated that the DPRK government demanded hysteria and crying from its citizens, and that their "only alternative is to flee the country." [63] However, such emotional expressions of grief, such as weeping, sobbing and shaking their fists, are part of Korean Confucian culture , elements of which are also regularly observed in South Korea. [64] Thus, during the funeral ceremony of South Korean President Pak Jong Hee, thousands of South Korean women were sealed with "screaming, screaming and air-shaking fists." [65] Korea expert B.R. Myers noted that the sorrow expressed by the North Koreans on the death of Kim Jong Il was probably genuine. [66]
About sensations
In the absence of hard facts, some reports are based on sensational statements, distortions and unsubstantiated rumors. [3] [19] Many of them come from South Korea. [16] [17] John Delary of Yonse University argues that there is some need for sensational news about North Korea in the world: “There is a global appetite for any information about North Korea, and the more obscene it is, the better. Some of this may be true, but most of the information is false ... the norms of journalism are thrown out of the window, because with regard to North Korea they say: "North Korea - no one knows what is happening there." [22] Jin Lee, the former chairman of the Associated Press in Pyongyang, commented that “when it comes to North Korea, the more frightening, obscene, entertaining, the more it fits into the narrative, because the North Koreans are crazy strangers for them,” and more likely that the material will be published. [35] The author and retired British diplomat James Hoar wrote: "The main focus in the British coverage of North Korea is on strangeness and specificity." [67]
Max Fisher of the Washington Post wrote that with regard to the DPRK “almost any statement is considered as accurate and reliable, no matter how ridiculous or unreliable”. Fisher quoted Isaac Stone Fisch, editor of Foreign Policy , laughing at the fact that "as an American journalist, you can write almost anything you want about North Korea, and people will just agree with that." [57] Isaac Stone Fish himself admitted that he represents the DPRK as a country that is mired in a drug epidemic, with very little evidence to support this. [9] [23] According to Chad O'Carroll of NK News, these fictions have a “viral” tendency to spread. They are very attractive to online news organizations because they increase the number of visits to their websites and spread quickly. A hoax, an incorrect translation, or a comment line can grow into global media coverage. [68]
Over the course of several years, many international news agencies have reported statements by North Korean SMIPs, such as Kim Jong Il personally putting five balls into one hole, playing golf for the first time, or reaching another incredible result. [69] [70] [71] This story should have created the impression that the North Korean government attributes supernatural feats to its leaders as part of the personality cult . Despite the wide spread of this story, not a single source confirming this was found in the North Korean SMIP. According to NK News, "unofficial polls of the North Koreans themselves showed that no one in Pyongyang would have known about this legendary feat if the tourists had not told him about it." [72] Richard Sears, a British journalist who played at the Pyongyang Golf Club, asked officials about this, but they said it was just an urban myth. [73] The Korea Times traced the origin of this story down to Australian journalist Eric Ellis, whom she was told by a professional golf player in Pyongyang in 1994. [74]
Kim Chol was the Deputy Minister of Defense, and was allegedly shot from a mortar for “drunkenness and raginess” during the period of mourning for Kim Jong Il. The story, originally reported by Chosun Ilbo, was picked up by the world media. [75] [76] However, a subsequent analysis conducted by Foreign Policy magazine found that rumors served as the basis for this myth, [77] and NK News noted that the story "demonstrates how one anonymous source can generate a story for the South Korean press which is then picked up by other news agencies, such as the Daily Mail, for example. ” [72]
On August 29, 2013, Chosun Ilbo reported that North Korean singer Hyun Son Wol was executed by a firing squad along with eleven other performers, including members of the Ehnhasu orchestra and Wanjesan Light Music Ensemble, by order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un . [78] This news was published by all world media. It reported that the singer was a former girlfriend of the North Korean leader, and that she, along with other guilty persons, was spotted in a pornographic video. [79] [80] [81] The DPRK news agency TsTAK denied this news, and a Japanese news magazine reported that it was subsequently seen in public. [22] On May 16, 2014, Hyun performed on North Korean television as a participant in the congress of the Union of Artists of the DPRK, thereby denying rumors. [82] [83] [84]
NK News's Gianluca Spezza believes that abused stereotypes and labels applied to North Korea, such as the Recluse State, "secretive" and "unpredictable", create catchy headlines and are easily sold. [85] Analyst Andrei Lankov notes that “Stories about North Korean insanity are always on the front pages,” but claims that the image of the DPRK regime as irrational is deliberately false and provocative. [86] In combination with restrictions on the activities of foreign media, this leads to many myths becoming clichés. [24] According to the American historian Bruce Cumings, such inventions have been spreading since the rise of North Korea, and repeated infinitely like cadres of military parades. [52] In general, the portrait of North Korea is described in the media as a “cartoon cartoon”. [32] [87] [88]
Some defectors commented that some news about North Korea is ridiculous and very different from the country in which they lived. [89] Several visitors reported that North Korea, which they encountered, was far from barren landscapes, starving people, and "step-pitch" troops depicted in the media. [23] [90] [91]
Hoaxes and Parodies
Serious news organizations sometimes mistakenly take hoaxes and fictions at face value. [92] [93] Thus, in June 2016, the financial markets of South Korea were shocked by reports of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un , which were posted on parodies of news agencies. [94]
In 2013, the short film “How American Live” (“How Americans Live”) was widely distributed on the Internet. The film showed footage, presumably from the United States, with a stilted English narration that spoke about various aspects of the life of American society. For example, people supposedly have to eat snow for food. Wired's Spencer Ackerman called the film “North Korean propaganda video,” and the Washington Post said that the message of the video “coincides with North Korean propaganda.” Later it turned out that the film was a satire shot by British travel writer Alan Hill, and had nothing in common with the "North Korean propaganda". [95]
After the arrest and execution of DPRK official Jang Sung-taek in 2013 on corruption charges, some media reported that he was eaten alive by a pack of hungry dogs on the orders of Kim Jong-un . [96] After the news began to gain momentum, Trevor Powell, a software developer in Chicago, discovered that the Chinese blogger had composed the “duck”. [97] [98] After the truth was revealed, some media abandoned their initial statements.
Notes
- ↑ Leo Byrne (9 October 2014). "What do journalists think about reporting on North Korea?" . NK News
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Anna Broinowski (June 1, 2015). "True or false: the North Korean stories, they couldn't make up - but did . " The Guardian . Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
- ↑ Green, Christopher "Beware of North Korean Rumor Mill: Chris Greens on Borderlands Information and Borderlands Information" . Sino-NK . (July 25, 2012). Archived from the original on 14 March 2017.
- ↑ "Ri Yonggil, North Korean general, thought to be executed, is actually alive . " The Washingtion Times . 10 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ↑ Zegart, Amy (9 July 2017). "Kim Jong Un: The Hardest Intelligence Target . " The Atlantic . Archived from the original on July 9th, 2017.
- ↑ "Frontline. Kim's Nuclear Gamble. Interview: Donald Gregg . " Pbs . 20 February 2003. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017.
- ↑ Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). "The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books". p. 48. ISBN 9780465031238 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Stone Fish, Isaac . The Black Hole of North Korea , The New York Times (8 August 2011). Archived March 21, 2017.
- ↑ Shearlaw, Maeve; experts, North Korea (13 May 2014). "Mythbusters: uncovering the truth about North Korea . " Archived from the original on 6 June 2016 - via The Guardian.
- ↑ Lankov, Andrei . Facts unknown: Navigating North Korea's elephant in the dark , NK News (28 December 2016). Archived December 29, 2016.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Green, Christopher (July 25, 2012). "Beware of North Korean Rumor Mill: Chris Green on Sourcing and Borderlands Information Quality" . Sino-NK. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017.
- ↑ Cumings, Bruce (2003). North Korea: Another Country. The New Press. p. xii.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Taylor, Adam (August 29, 2013). "Why You Shouldn't 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.
- ↑ 1 2 O'Carroll, Chad (6 January 2014). "The North Korea's phonebook," The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Jung, Damin (14 September 2017). "Why South Korean media so often misses the mark on North Korea . " NK News.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "A leading press freedom predator dies"
- ↑ "North Korea"
- 2 1 2 3 "Kong Jong-un ordered executions" , The Guardian , September 23, 2013
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Abt, Felix (2014). "A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom". Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9780804844390 .
- 2 1 2 Carlin, Robert (17 May 2016) "A Second Look for the 7th Workers' Party of Korea Congress" , 38 North . US-Korea Institute
- 2 1 2 Shearlaw, Maeve (5 May 2016) "Propaganda and the party congress: how to report from North Korea" , The Guardian
- ↑ "BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes and team expelled from North Korea" , BBC news , 9 May 2016
- Images "The images of the North Korean people do not want you to see the pictures of North Korea ..." , Daily Mail , 9 May 2014
- Assoc "Associated Press Office in Pyongyang" , The Huffington Post , 14 July 2014
- Date "Dateline North Korea, But Still Still Reporting From A Distance" , The New York Times , 6 May 2016
- ↑ "Uncensored Instagrams From North Korea Buck Brutal Trend of Secrecy" , Wired.com, 2013-11-01
- ↑ "AFP opens North Korea bureau" , Yahoo News , 7 September 2016
- 2 1 2 Fragkiska Megaloudi "A General, a 'Nap' and an Execution: North Korea , Huffington Post , 14 May 2016
- ↑ Patricia Nilsson "The benefits of North Korean defector testimony" , NK News , 11 January 2017
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- ↑ 1 2 Brian Padden "Opacity, Appetite for Salacious Stories Hamper North Korea Coverage"
- Almost "Almost half of the defectors experience discrimination in the South" , NK News , 15 March 2017
- ↑ Hyung Gu Lynn (2007). Bipolar Orders: The Two Koreas since 1989. Zed Books. p. 94.
- ↑ "Should N.Korean defectors become celebrities?" , NK News , 9 February 2016
- ↑ "Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart?" , The Guardian , 13 October 2015
- ↑ 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 .
- Prom "Prominent N. Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk admits parts of story are inaccurate" , Washington Post , 17 January 2015
- ↑ "UN Council of North Korea" , The New York Times , April 17, 2014
- North "North Korea's UN dismisses claim that human rights report is invalid" , The Guardian , Jan 21, 2015
- ↑ "North Korea Uses Defector's Partial Retraction to Lash Out at Washington" , The New York Times , January 20, 2015
- Prom "Prominent North Korean Defender Records Parts of His Story of Captivity" , The New York Times , January 19, 2015
- ↑ "After the Shin Dong-hyuk affair: Separating fact, fiction" , NK News , 3 February 2015
- ↑ "Former TV star defector back in North Korea: state media" , NK News , 17 July 2017
- ↑ "North Korean celebrity \ 's homecoming: Happy to be kidnapped?" , Straits Times , 23 July 2017
- ↑ DPRK Refutes Misinformation Spread by Chosun Ilbo (July 19, 2013). Archived October 12, 2014.
- ↑ "North Korea: What should we do of the latest 'execution'?" , BBC , 16 May 2015
- ↑ "Do blunders mean South Korea's spying apparatus is broken?" , AP , 11 May 2016
- ↑ 1 2 Cumings, Bruce (2003). "North Korea: Another Country". The New Press.
- "It's not all doom and gloom in Pyongyang" , Asia Times , September 23, 2011
- Report "Report: Kim Jong Un handing out copies of mein Kampf to senior North Korean officials" , Washington Post WorldViews Blog , 2013-06-17
- ↑ 1 2 3 Andrey Lankov "Mein Kampf has a little to offer a North Korean statesman" , NK News , 21 June 2013
- 2 1 2 "Why Kim doesn’t hit Hitler," NK News , 11 February 2015
- 2 1 2 "No, Kim Jong hungry dogs" , Washington Post WorldViews Blog , 3 January 2014
- ↑ "Eight things people get wrong about North Korea" , BBC , 5 March 2016
- ↑ "Unicorns' Existence Proven, Says North Korea" , Time , 30 November 2012
- ↑ "North Korea Says It's Found a Unicorn Lair" , US News and World Report , 30 November 2012
- ↑ "No, the North Korean government" , io9.com , 12 November 2012
- ↑ "Kim Jong Il , New York Daily News , 6 January 2014
- ↑ "North Korean mourners, crying to survive?" , CNN , December 22, 2011
- ↑ "North Korea's Tears: A Blend of Cult, Culture and Coercion" , New York Times , 20 December 2011
- ↑ "Why the North Koreans cry" , globalpost.com , 20 December 2011
- BR "BR Myers Addresses in North Korea" , Southern California Public Radio , December 27, 2011
- ↑ James E. Hoare, "Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea" , 38 North , 5 October 2016
- "Why North Korea attracts so much sensational media coverage" , NK News , 19 November 2014
- K Kim Jong-il, the Sportsman , New York Times , December 20, 2011
- FAQ "FAQ" , NK News: Database of North Korean Propaganda , August 22, 2005
- Golf Golf world mourns Kim Jong-il , Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 20 December 2011
- ↑ 1 2 “The top ten most bizarre rumors to spread about North Korea” , NK News , 6 December 2012
- K Kim Jong Il's golf feat a 'urban myth' , Golf Club Management , December 20, 2011
- “Debunking late Kim Jong-il golf myth” , The Korea Times , October 31, 2012
- North "North Korean Army Figure Executed As Kim Jong-un Continues Bloody Purge" , International Business Times , October 24, 2012
- North "North Korean army minister 'executed with mortar round'" , The Telegraph , 24 October 2012
- ↑ Was a North Korean General Really Executed by Mortar Fire? Foreign Policy (October 31, 2012). Archived on October 9, 2014.
- ↑ "Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend 'Shot by Firing Squad'" , The Chosun Ilbo , August 29, 2013
- Chinese "Chinese Internet Users Say This Completely Innocuous Video Is The Sex Tape That Got Kim Jong-Un's Ex Killed" , Business Insider , 2013-09-05
- ↑ "Kim Jong Un''s Ex-Lover Hyon Song-Wol 'Executed By North Korean Fighting Squad After Making Sex Tape'" , Huffingtonpost.co.uk , 2013-08-29
- K "Kim Jong-un's ex-lover executed by firing squad" , The Daily Telegraph , August 29, 2013
- ↑ “'Executed' Kim Jong-Un girlfriend reappears on North Korea television” , Daily Telegraph , 17 May 2014
- ↑ "'Executed' singer alive and well, Pyongyang TV shows" , Au.news.yahoo.com , May 17, 2014
- North "North Korean singer" signed up for the squad "shows up and down in Pyongyang" , NK News , 16 May 2014
- “Three unhelpful but common exaggerations about North Korea” , NK News , 20 November 2013
- "Kim Jong Un Is a Survivor, Not a Madman" , Foreign Policy , 26 April 2017
- ↑ “Dangerous, isolated and primed for war? North Korean clichés debunked " , The Guardian , 27 April 2015
- ↑ "People Must See Past Media Portrayal of North Korea, Cumings Says" , The Heights , November 19, 2017
- "Hyperbole, sensationalism and stories about North Korea" , Taipei Times , 13 January 2014
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- Letter "Letter to Kim Jong Tons Russian Schoolgirl to North Korea" , Moscow Times , 5 August 2014
- ↑ "North Korea's news service barely needs to be spoofed, but this duo nails it" , Washington Post , 21 April 2016
- ↑ "The Men Behind the Infamous Fake North Korean Twitter Account" , Daily Beast , 10 July 2017
- ↑ "False alarm on Kim Jong Un's death shakes South Korea" , NK News , 17 June 2016
- '"' How Americans Live Today ': Fake North Korean Propaganda Video Punks The Internet" , Huffington Post , 3 March 2013
- ↑ "Kim Jong-Un's uncle stripped naked and fed to 120 watches" , Mirror , 3 January 2014
- ↑ "Jang Song Thaek Eaten By Dog Story Likely Came From Satire" , Huffington Post , 6 January 2014
- ↑ "A cautionary tale of dogs, imposters and North Korea" , BBC , 6 January 2014