Rodong Sinmun (original) (raw)

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Official newspaper of North Korea

Rodong Sinmun
Front page on 12 November 2011
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
Publisher Rodong News Agency
Editor-in-chief Kim Pyong-ho
Founded 1945
Political alignment Workers' Party of Korea
Headquarters Pyongyang, North Korea
Country North Korea
Circulation 600,000 (as of 2015)[1]
Website rodong.rep.kp/en/ Edit this at Wikidata
Media of North KoreaList of newspapers
Rodong Sinmun
Chosŏn'gŭl 로동신문
Hancha 勞動新聞
Revised Romanization Rodong Sinmun
McCune–Reischauer Rodong Sinmun

Rodong Sinmun office in Pyongyang

Rodong Sinmun (IPA: [ɾo.doŋ ɕin.mun]; Korean: 로동신문; lit. Labor News) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on 1 November 1945, as Chŏngro (Korean: 정로; Hancha: 正路; lit. correct path), serving as a communication channel for the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea. It was renamed in September 1946 to its current name upon the steady development of the Workers' Party of Korea. Quoted frequently by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and international media, it is regarded as a source of official North Korean viewpoints on many issues.

The English-language version of Rodong Sinmun was launched in January 2012.[2]

The editor-in-chief is Kim Pyong-ho.[3] The lists of articles of the Rodong Sinmun since 1946 is available online on the websites of the Information Center on North Korea (unibook.unikorea.go.kr) and the North Korea information portal (nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr).[4]

Because of the paper's low wages, many journalists had to use the privilege of being able to travel freely in the country to collect bribes or engage in underground trade in order to make a living.[5]

Rodong Sinmun is published every day of the year and usually contains six pages.[6] The newspaper has approximately 100 reporters.[_citation needed_]

Following the purge and execution of Jang Song-thaek, Rodong Sinmun deleted some 20,000 articles from its web archives,[7] while others were edited to omit his name.[8]

Rodong Sinmun content can be accessed over the Mirae WiFi network in North Korea.[9]

New Year editorials

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Since 1996, Rodong Sinmun, the Korean Central News Agency, Minju Choson, and Joson Inmingun has published a joint New Year editorial that outlines the country's policies for the year.[10][11] The editorials usually offer praise for the Songun policy, the government and leadership, and encourage the growth of the nation. They are also critical of the policies of South Korea, Japan, the United States, Israel and Western governments towards North Korea and/or its allies.[12][13][14]On 1 January 2006, the agency sent out a joint-editorial from North Korea's state newspapers calling for the withdrawal of American forces from South Korea.[10] While annual 1 January editorials are a tradition among the papers, that year's brought attention from Western media outlets, by calling for a "nationwide campaign for driving out the U.S. troops".[15] The editorial made several references to Korean reunification. The 2009 editorial received similar attention, as criticism of United States policy was absent, and the admission of severe economic problems in North Korea. The editorial also made reference to denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula, in what analysts claimed was a "hopeful" sign.[16][17] This was echoed again in its 2010 editorial, which called for an end to hostilities with the United States and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula.[18]

The 2011 joint editorial edition,[11] aside from its calls for a denuclearized Korea and for a slowdown of tensions between the two Koreas, has for the first time, mentioned the rising light industries of North Korea, given as a reason for an upcoming upsurge in the national economy in the new year and for the achievement of the Kangsong Taeguk national mission. The practice of a joint New Year editorial ended in 2013 when Kim Jong Un delivered the first New Year speech on television in 19 years.[19]

In June 2018, Rodong Sinmun devoted a four-page feature to the North Korea–United States summit, welcoming its results. The article carried the text of the declaration in full. In addition, it mentioned security guarantees and Donald Trump's pledge to cease the joint military exercises with South Korea, and failed to mention the promise Kim had allegedly made to Trump about closing down a test site for missile engines.[20]

  1. ^ Sung-hui Moon; Yunju Kim; Roseanne Gerin (2015-04-27). "North Korea Ramps Up Circulation of National Daily". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  2. ^ Kim, Young-jin (2012-01-11). "NK's main paper launches English website". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  3. ^ "2nd Plenary Session of the 7th WPK Central Committee Held". North Korea Leadership Watch. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Article lists of Rodong Sinmun available online: ministry". Yonhap News Agency. May 14, 2021. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  5. ^ North Korean journalists use status and travel freedom to cash in
  6. ^ Holloway, Andrew (2003). A Year in Pyongyang Archived 2009-04-05 at the Wayback Machine. Aidan Foster-Carter. Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea, Leeds University.
  7. ^ Florcruz, Michelle (16 December 2013). "Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Deletes Online Archive Of News After Execution Of Jang Song Thaek". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  8. ^ Weiser, Martin (31 October 2016). "On Reading North Korean Media: The Curse of the Web". Sino-NK. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  9. ^ Ji, Dagyum (November 14, 2018). Hotham, Oliver (ed.). "Smartphone-capable WiFi on show at Pyongyang IT exhibition, state TV reveals". NK News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. North Korean ruling party organ the Rodong Sinmun can be accessed through the network, the report added, as can online-shopping outlet Manmulsang, video-on-demand service Manbang, Mokran video, the Sci-Tech Complex website, and Yeolpung.
  10. ^ a b "Joint New Year Editorial Issued". Korean Central News Agency. January 1, 2006. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
  11. ^ a b Paul Tighe and Jungmin Hong (January 1, 2011). "North Korea, in New Year Message, Says Regional Tensions Should Be Defused". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2013-12-29. Retrieved 2013-12-16. 'The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean Peninsula,' the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, citing a New Year editorial carried by newspapers including Rodong Sinmun and Joson Inmingun.
  12. ^ North Korea issues New Year denuclearization pledge Archived 2009-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. Reuters. December 31, 2008.
  13. ^ N. Korea Vows to Rebuild Economy in New Year Message, The Korea Times, January 1, 2009.
  14. ^ 미국과 이스라엘에 경고. Rodong Sinmun. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  15. ^ "North Korea Demands U.S. Troop Withdrawal" Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. Fox News. December 31, 2005.
  16. ^ 2009 Joint New Year Editorial Issued Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, KCNA, January 1, 2009.
  17. ^ North Korea message is mild on US Archived 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. January 1, 2009.
  18. ^ Kim, Sam (January 1, 2010). N. Korea calls for end to enmity with U.S., hints at return to nuclear talks Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. Yonhap.
  19. ^ Tertitskiy, Fyodor (29 December 2017). "How to interpret Kim Jong Un's New Year's address". NK News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  20. ^ Zwirko, Colin (June 12, 2018). "North Korea welcomes Trump's promise to end military exercises: KCNA". NK News. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2018.