North Korea takes on social networking

In a move that’s sure to leave the world scratching its head, the secretive nation of North Korea has become the newest member of Twitter. Using the Twitter name @uriminzok Korean for “our people” North Korea has taken the microblogging site as part of a rejuvenated PR campaign. The account’s first was post published on August 12 and four days since has attracted more than 7514 followers. Much like the country’s life long tyrant, it follows no one.

According to a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists, North Koreans live in the most censored country in the world. As the world’s deepest information void, the communists nation has no independent journalists, and all radio and television receivers sold in the country are locked to government-specific frequencies.

Last month to much surprise, the country’s government also opened a YouTube account uploading 78 clips in four weeks with most clips praising Kim Jong-Il . Not surprisingly however, the account appears to have bee set up by the government-owned news agency, Uriminzikkiri, one of the few to offer an English-language version of its content.

Lately, North Korea has been embracing social media, albeit for clearly dubious motives. It most defiantly isn’t looking to chit-chat about the latest episode of True Blood or even the 8th parallel, the latitude separating it from democratic mimesis South Korea. The Twitter account contains links to past speeches praising the regime’s dear leader Kim Jong-Il and a denunciation of reports that a North Korean torpedo sank South Korean warship Cheonan in March, while another criticised US led sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

Gilles Lordet, chief editor of Reporters Without Borders, said North Korea’s move into social media is the natural extension of government propaganda.

“For people inside North Korea this makes no difference at all. I don’t consider what they’re going to say on their Twitter page as honest or objective, so it’s not something we can welcome,” Lordet said.

Ironically, Twitter is blocked in South Korea and few people in the country even have access to a computer. Many of the country’s few followers posted derisive comments in Korean on the new account. Although the Twitter account can’t exactly be referred to as a success, the scathing comments left by locals on the site could eventually yield some results. I for one would never have imagined that the tyrannical regime would even allow such comments to be posted on the account, or at lest expectd drastic action to be taken as a response, but perhaps I utter too soon .

In North Korea all news is good news. According to the country’s rigidly controlled media, North Korea has never suffered from famine or poverty, and citizens would willingly sacrifice themselves and their loved ones for their leader. The website however, allows citizens to post anonymous comments of view point that would be considered anathema to the state.