For years, the democratic government of South Korea, with the highest rate of internet penetration in the world, has defied internet freedoms by blocking access to the few North Korean websites out there. Sites once hosted in Japan and China, are now being natively hosted from Pyongyang, but South Korea has adapted its filters to block the new .kr addresses as well. In total, approximately 30 websites either hosted in, or with strong connection with the DPRK, have been censored. North Korea has greatly enhanced its online presence, embracing social media such as Twitter and Youtube (and attempts at Facebook that have been blocked by administrators), and the South Korean government has been scrambling to keep on top of the filtering. Why would a democratic country extolling the virtues of freedom and free speech seek to censor the North’s propaganda?
The National Security Act, an anti-communism measure in the South founded after the Korean War, forbids anti-government ideas, organizations and communications, which of course North Korea specializes in. It can be argued that the only reason the DPRK has a presence on the internet is to spread their propaganda to the outside world, and the communication is certainly one-way. The North’s blunt propaganda, however, would have a tough time convincing most South Koreans to join the cause of their impoverished socialist nation.
In a statement likely to rile up conspiracy theorists, KCNA state-run media reports that it is ready to provide Seoul with a sample of its torpedos as proof that it did not sink the Cheonan in March of this year. The argument from the North is that their torpedoes are made from a steel alloy, whereas most torpedoes throughout the world are made from aluminum. The North described the multi-national investigative report on the cause of the sinking as the “most hideous conspiratorial farce in history”. Here is a link to the full report from KCNA (very long!).
