August 23, 2010 by Simon King
North Korea has always been notoriously secretive when it comes to permitting residents within the country to communicate through digital media. However, they have this week announced a new Twitter account specifically for the country, which has already attracted over four and a half thousand followers.
The reclusive country has launched @uriminzok, which roughly translates as ‘Our People’, in order to enable residents to keep up to date with events in the country. The move follows the recent launch of a YouTube channel dedicated to publishing video propaganda primarily directed against the United States and South Korea.
The YouTube channel currently features over seventy videos since launching last month. According to experts, people in North Korea are fully up to date with technology. A researcher from Cranfield University who specialises in North Korean research has commented: “The North Koreans are technologically literate. They have been investing heavily in technology for over twenty years, and they have a cadre of people who can use modern social networking sites. But the problem for them is the content.”
Recent Twitter posts include a comment stating that the current administrative set-up in South Korea was a ‘prostitute’ of the US. Twitter comments are currently only published in the Korean language.
Experts say that it is not a move towards social freedom which can be celebrated, as the majority of residents in the country do not have internet access, and even if they could access the site, they would not be permitted to comment in any way which could be seen to criticise the current political regime within the country.
A spokesperson from Tufts University in Boston’s politics division has commented: “As far as content goes, there’s nothing new as far as I can tell. The agency responsible for the videos and the tweets is a major arm of the country’s ruling communist party. They’ve been putting out stuff like this for years now.”
North Korea do not have any press freedom to report on political events, nor any independent media. The Twitter account is seen as simply another way for the ruling government to issue propaganda.
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