Listening Post - North Korea - 19 Sep 08 - Part 1

This episode of Listening Post looks at the propaganda and pitfalls of reporting on and from the closed world of Kim Jong Il's North Korea.

For this week's News Divide, we peek behind the bamboo curtain and look into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

It has been described, by some commentators in the west, as a 'hermetically sealed' country, with no Western news bureaux.

Few reporters get access into this secretive state, but we speak to Al Jazeera's Diplomatic Correspondent, Mark Seddon who has visited the country many times, to see what it is like to report from the hermit kingdom.

The news coming out of Pyongyang is so restricted, that when their leader, Kim Jong Il, failed to turn up for the country's 60th birthday celebrations, the rumour mills went into overdrive with speculation about his ailing health. But where does the real story lie and how much truth is there coming out of the rumour mill?

Plus in Plus in part two we report on the demise of the US newspaper industry.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Listening
• Post
• Richard
• Gizbert
• North
• Korea
• Kim
• Jong
• Il
• Pyongyang
• media
• journalism
• reporting
• Mark
• Seddon

[TheCaptainLulz]

what the fuck is it with americans and nucular...its NUCLEAR.

[63gstone]

You are correct. however I doubt that we (the US) would even attack NK even if they attacked us. I may be wrong but I'm just remembering the USS Pueblo.

[MrGavrilovic]

Thanks god we dont need your fuck media which is only lie lie and lie again!! The media are lead by rich people not poor that's for sure! So the rich let wright in what is in their interest so there is propaganda everywhere!! So Shut up and let this people leave their own way!!!

[MrGavrilovic]

We saw what can do American citizens They can't even seat in front of wall street without being beaten so shut up. Brainwashed motherfuckers!!

[MrGavrilovic]

Fuck you Bush you are evil!!!

[JeffreyOsb]

@MadLeaver Are you dumb or just an idiot? First I don't agree with his statement but he said the world's fucked. Unless Canada isn't part of the world... yeah.

[MadLeaver]

@hitmonlee00 canadas not fucked according to you :P

[MrDevah]

Japanese intelligence???

[TheCaptainLulz]

@dieselscience I wasnt talking about her. Listen to fox sometimes (if your stomach can take it) they say it all the time.

[dieselscience]

@TheCaptainLulz That woman is from UK, didn't you read and listen to her accent?