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North Korean Policy Elites - Defense Technical Information Center

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greater access to first-hand information from outside the country. But those few <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong>s<br />

who travel abroad are watched carefully by <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong> security personnel. Because of security<br />

restrictions and infrastructure problems, most personal communication inside the DPRK takes<br />

place on a face-to-face basis. Mail, telephone, and intranet communications are subject to<br />

monitoring by the security services.<br />

RECEIVING AND INTERPRETING INFORMATION<br />

How <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong>s respond to news about U.S. initiatives depends to a large extent on<br />

how they process this information. Like people everywhere, <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong>s are probably<br />

skeptical of information that contradicts their beliefs, although this skepticism may be overcome<br />

if the communication source is highly credible. Whereas the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong> press depicts Kim<br />

Jong-il as the most credible person in <strong>North</strong> Korea or anywhere else, the United States is<br />

portrayed as a country of schemers plotting to enslave <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong>s and other “progressive”<br />

peoples.<br />

Communications coming from the United States urge the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korean</strong> elite to change<br />

their policies - the same policies that put them at the top of their society. Change may not be in<br />

their best interest. To overcome strong resistance to change, a highly credible source must<br />

present an extremely attractive - or extremely threatening - message. The greatest challenge is<br />

not how to get international news into <strong>North</strong> Korea, but how to get the desired response to that<br />

news.<br />

III-S-3

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