''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean
official newspaper of record of the
Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on 1 November 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel for the
North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea; it was renamed in September 1946. 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.
An English-language version of ''Rodong Sinmun'' was launched in January 2012.
The editor-in-chief is
Kim Pyong-ho. A list of articles published in ''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).
Contents
''Rodong Sinmun'' is published every day of the year and usually contains six pages.
[Holloway, Andrew (2003)]
A Year in Pyongyang
. Aidan Foster-Carter. Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea, Leeds University.
Following the purge and execution of
Jang Song-thaek, ''Rodong Sinmun'' deleted some 20,000 articles from its web archives,
while others were edited to omit his name.
''Rodong Sinmun'' content can be accessed over the
Mirae WiFi network in North Korea.
New Year editorials
Since 1996, ''Rodong Sinmun'', the
Korean Central News Agency, ''
Minju Joson'', and ''
Joson Inmingun'' has published a joint New Year editorial that outlines the country's policies for the year.
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
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and Western governments towards North Korea and/or its allies.
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.
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". The editorial made several references to
Korean reunification
Korean reunification is the hypothetical unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification of the peninsula while still maintaining two opposing regimes was started by the Ju ...
. 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
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...
, in what analysts claimed was a "hopeful" sign. 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.
The 2011 joint editorial edition,
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.
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
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
'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.
See also
*
List of newspapers in North Korea
*
Media of North Korea
*
Politics of North Korea
*
Telecommunications in North Korea
*''
People's Daily
The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...
'', Mainland Chinese counterpart
References
External links
*
''Rodong Simun'' at KCNA Watch archivesby
NK News
Old archivesat
Defense Technical Information Center
{{Media specialized on news and/or analysis about North Korea
1945 establishments in Korea
Communist newspapers
Korean-language newspapers
Newspapers established in 1945
Newspapers published in North Korea
North Korean news websites
Publications of the Workers' Party of Korea