North Korean Policy Elites - Defense Technical Information Center

discuss and argue among themselves. But once Kim makes a decision, it is official policy until
he chooses to review it. In this decision-making process, Kim wants everyone to report up to him,
not to each other. Because everyone’s personal security is dependent on pleasing - or at least not
displeasing - Kim, self-censorship is presumably an important characteristic of policy
discussions and recommendations.
DOMESTIC NEWS SOURCES
The major North Korean media consist of four national newspapers, one AM radio
station, three television stations, and local cable systems connected to loudspeakers in homes and
public places. For many North Koreans, television sets and radios are still a luxury, and hardly
anyone has access to a computer. Kim Jong-il is known to be an avid web surfer, and a select
number of scientists and officials also may have access to the Internet. The Kwangmyong
Intranet was set up in 2000 to link major cities and organizations.
“Newsworthy” items are scarce in all the media. The DPRK’s premier news outlet is
Nodong Sinmun (Daily Worker), which publishes six pages every day of the year. Page 6 is
devoted to international news. News in the DPRK press focuses on two themes. First, that the
domestic and foreign policies of the Kim regime are correct and successful. Second, that Japan,
the United States, and some elements in the ROK pose a threat to all Koreans. An informal
survey of news stories in the North Korean press relating to U.S. military initiatives indicates
that a considerable amount such news is available, although it is presented in a very negative
fashion. News stories in 2003 reported on the transformation of the USFK, the deployment of
fighters and bombers to Guam, the southward relocation of American soldiers in the ROK, the
Proliferation Security Initiative, and the war in Iraq - especially the U.S. military’s psychological
operations in the early stages of the war.
FOREIGN NEWS SOURCES
In principle, North Koreans should not be able to gain direct access to foreign news
sources. Possession of a radio with an unfixed dial, listening to foreign radio or television
broadcasts, possessing foreign video or audiotapes, and reading foreign newspapers or
magazines all are grounds for detention. Although the government tries to jam foreign broadcasts,
including Radio Free Asia, these broadcasts do sometimes get through, and some risk listening to
them with foreign or altered radios.
There is little reason to believe that one group of the North Korean elite is more likely
than another to be exposed to information from foreign broadcasts. Those cadres who have the
opportunity to meet tourists and those with the opportunity to travel overseas obviously have
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