The Rodong Sinmun newspaper, showing an image of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, casting his ballot in the 14th Supreme People's Assembly elections, is displayed at a subway station in Pyongyang, in this March 11, 2019 file photo. South Korea plans to lift its ban on public access to North Korean media content as part of its efforts to promote freedom of expression and mutual understanding. AFP-Yonhap

Fears of regime's propaganda influence overblown: expert

By Jung Min-ho

South Korea plans to lift its ban on public access to North Korean media content to promote freedom of expression and mutual understanding despite the North's intensifying nuclear threats.

An official told The Korea Times Tuesday that the Ministry of Unification has been stepping up its efforts over the past three months to give the public access to North Korean television and, in the long run, other media outlets such as Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's Central Committee of the Workers' Party.

"We have been discussing the issue with related government agencies, including which laws should be revised to make it possible," the official said. "Given the many legal issues it entails, it will take some time (in the National Assembly)."

Change, however, might come faster than expected. The liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds the majority in the Assembly, has long said that the National Security Act ― the law that de facto prohibits individuals from getting direct access to such content ― is excessive and needs to be revised or abolished entirely. Last year, 21 lawmakers from the left, mostly from the party, collectively proposed a bill to repeal the law.

The history of efforts of repeal the act means that ― with strong determination and careful coordination ― this policy of the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration could soon be codified into law with bipartisan support.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se speaks during a parliamentary audit session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

During a parliamentary audit session, Friday, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said that the first phase of the plan is to enable ordinary South Koreans to watch content from North Korean broadcasters, such as the Korean Central News Agency, in their living rooms if they choose to. But whether they should also be able to visit regime-run websites will need to be reviewed further, he said.

The ministry hopes that such efforts will help the isolated North gradually open up to the outside world. This year, Pyongyang has been ratcheting up tensions with a series of weapons tests, threatening to strike South Korea and its allies with its nuclear arsenal if an imminent attack by weapons of mass destruction is detected, and refusing to talk.

Some in the conservative camp have expressed concerns over the potential influence of the North's propaganda, adhering to the view that the national security law must stay the same. But such fears are vastly overblown, according to Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

"In the first several months after giving the public access to North Korea media, many will want to check it out. But, most of them will lose interest fast," Park said.

South Korea's National Security Act was enacted in 1948 to punish "anti-state" activities or speech in favor of the North Korean regime or communism. It was strengthened later when the ideological conflict was in full swing and merged with the Anti-Communism Law in 1980. Given South Korea's economic and cultural influence today ― incomparably greater than that of the North ― South Korean politicians should not worry that the regime's propaganda, which is filled with illogical messages and blatant lies, will have a profound impact on highly educated South Koreans, Park said.

"Even now, if you are really interested in reading the Rodong Sinmun in South Korea, you can do so by bypassing restrictions using a VPN or through a website that provides the content to paying members," he said. "The ban is also a great obstacle to researchers studying North Korea. It is time to officially lift the ban. Its lifting is overdue."