North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS) revealed on its website (www.nkis.kr) on the 21st that the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), under instruction from Kim Jong Il, plans to set up “automatic interception apparatus” in each household. Starting May 25th, the apparatus would allow the interception of foreign transmissions in border and coastal regions.
The organization cited sources based in North Korea, relaying that through this apparatus the KWP plans to intercept signals in advance and hinder the ability of average citizens to tune in to foreign TV and radio broadcasts at source.
The apparatus can apparently be purchased for 6,000 North Korean won from the post office. The source added that the North Korean authorities have been persuading citizens with the following, “If you install the apparatus, then you do not need to go to the post office to set the channels. The apparatus will automatically help lock in the frequency and will help minimize any disruptions in transmission, improving the images on your screen.”
The source expanded on the decree from the North Korean authorities, “From now on, with the exception of registered TVs and video recorders, importing and selling used products from China and Japan has been prohibited and only goods produced at Pyongyang’s Daedong River Television Factory are allowed to be bought and sold. If the automatic interception apparatus is not used, then no matter the reason, the TVs are confiscated.”
“In the midst of nationwide anti-socialist inspections which began on May 15th, the KWP decree continued, ‘the ideologically-driven cultural infiltration and the psychological battle of the ideologues supporting the empire should be resolutely confronted and destroyed. The phenomenon of watching rebellious recorded and published materials and broadcasts should be thoroughly prohibited and acts of propagation must be strictly punished.’”
The source emphasized that this inspection is taking place during the “150-Day Battle” and those found during this inspection were passed on for public trial and have had to endure legal sanction as well as the exile of their families.
As a result, citizens have apparently been registering their TVs, videos and radios in greater numbers, and house searches by inspection units have become more frequent.
The source relayed the reaction among the local citizens on the matter, some of whom have commented, “It is difficult to watch TV without electricity anyway, so perhaps it is better if we do not have one.”
In addition, North Korea, through the the Culture and Art Subcommittee of the North Korean Committee for the Practice of the June 15 Joint Declaration to actualize the June 15th Joint Declaration, recently criticized the screening of foreign movies and anti-communist TV dramas in South Korea, saying that the reality of North Korea has been seriously distorted. It also maintained, “Rebellious maneuvers which stir up tension between North and South Korea should immediately be rooted out.”
