Seoul: The unification ministry announced plans to take administrative steps to allow the public easy access to the Rodong Sinmun, the primary newspaper of North Korea's ruling Worker's Party.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in South Korea, access to North Korean media and publications, such as the Rodong Sinmun, has been restricted since they are classified as "special materials" due to concerns about content that may praise and promote North Korea. The unification ministry, along with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and other government agencies, held a consultative meeting to discuss reclassifying the Rodong Sinmun as "general materials" instead of "special materials" under the spy agency's guidelines.
During the meeting, participants reached a consensus on the reclassification of the North's daily. The government will begin taking necessary administrative steps next week to facilitate access, as noted in a press release from the unification ministry. President Lee Jae Myung had previously criticized the ban on public access, describing it as "treating the public as those who can fall for propaganda and agitation" by North Korea.
The NIS has expressed a positive stance towards allowing access to North Korean materials to ensure the public's right to know and to promote inter-Korean exchanges. Presently, the Rodong Sinmun can be accessed at designated facilities, such as the ministry's information center on North Korea, where an applicant's identity and purpose of access are verified. If reclassified, South Koreans will be able to access the paper version more freely, though online access to the newspaper's website will remain restricted.
In a report to the National Assembly, the NIS stated it will "proactively" review the possibility of lifting the ban on online access to North Korea-related websites. The government currently restricts online access to approximately 60 North Korean websites under the Information and Communications Network Act, which allows for restrictions on information related to activities banned under the national security law.