North Korean Journalism: In the Service of Kim Jong-Il

A special feature of North Korean totalitarianism is its unique ideology, Kimilsungism and "juche." It is the task of the regimented press to explain this ideology to the population. The media also have a key role in the deification of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. There are the songs, the thousands of billboards with slogans glorifying father and son, the 30,000 statues around the country, the badges on every jacket and the hundreds of books extolling the greatness of the Kims. But there are also North Korea's journalists who, under a permanent threat of terrible sanctions, are disciplined propagandists.