Taipei, Taiwan – Chinese media journalists managed by the state, CCTV and Everyday peoplereturned to North Korea five years after their withdrawal due to the Pandemic COVID-19, said the Ministry of Unification of South Korea.
North Korea has selectively opened its doors to foreign media, allowing a limited number of points of sale to establish offices in its capital, Pyongyang.
The Chinese, Russians, Japanese and a few western agencies, such as AP and AFP, obtained access under strict government surveillance. During the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign journalists were invited to leave North Korea as part of its strict border control measures.
Chinese journalists entered North Korea on February 27, said that the South Unification Ministry, which oversees inter -corrense relations, adding that AP and AFP journalists have not yet returned to North Korea.
It is not clear if Russian journalists had also returned to the North.
In addition, the Japanese Pro-Pyongyang newspaper Choson Sinbo also announced that his North Korean office had reopened.
“Our Pyongyang office resumed its operations after five years, ending the unfortunate temporary suspension period caused by an unexpected malignant epidemic,” the newspaper announced on Friday.
The news arrives while North Korea sends mixed signals on the reopening of its borders to foreigners.
Last week, North Korea closed its only bridge for foreign tourists. A few weeks earlier, he allowed visitors to return, which suggested that he had opened for the first time since the ban by COVVI-19 in 2020.
Certain South Korean media have hypothesized that the decision to arrest future tourists was motivated by concerns concerning the dissemination of uncontrolled information.
Before last month, only the Russians were allowed in North Korea for group tours that has been limited since September 2023.
The creation of foreign media offices and the status of residence for journalists are supervised by the North Korean Central Press Agency and the Korean Central Central Radio Committee.
These two agencies submit requests for residence approval to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after obtaining the approval of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party.
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The foreign media operating in North Korea are often confronted with criticisms from the outside world with their lack of independent reports due to the serious restrictions imposed by the regime.
Journalists are constantly monitored, their movements are strongly controlled and they are often assigned to government guards, limiting their ability to present themselves freely.
Critics argue that foreign media offices in Pyongyang are likely to amplify state propaganda rather than provide new objectives, as they are in a hurry to align with the stories of the diet.
The South Korean public broadcaster, KBS, for example, expressed in 2021 interest in establishing an office in Pyongyang to improve the cooperation of intercoreal media and ensure direct coverage of the North.
However, such initiatives have been faced with public criticism in South Korea due to concerns about journalistic independence and potential compromises in reports.
At that time, the power party of the opposition of the time also raised the concern that the functioning of a Pyongyang office could be used as a channel to channel foreign funds to the North Korean government, accusing the government of “giving” the money of South Korean taxpayers.
Edited by Mike Firn.