NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN NORTH KOREA

North Korea is a country of no freedom that even includes the ban in freedom of speech and
expression. This is to make sure that no one will criticize the regime or the leadership in North
Korea and if it is reported, they will make you and your family ‘disappear’ from society and
end up in a political prison camp. Not only that, all domestic media outlets are owned by the
one-party state and no reporting is allowed that isn't sanctioned by the government. Televisions
and radios are permanently fixed to state channels, and all publications and broadcasts are
subject to strict supervision and censorship. For example, television coverage of North Korea’s
summits with the United States and South Korea in 2018 was carefully edited and quickly
pulled from circulation. This issue is so serious to the point that, Reporters without Borders
(RSF) ranks it last in its World Press Freedom Index as North Korea's media is arguably the
most tightly controlled in the world. Besides, not only the media, nearly all forms of private
communication are monitored by a huge network of informants. The regime goes to great
lengths to stop any outside media reaching its population. The NGO, Freedom House, reports
that listening to unauthorized foreign broadcasts, watching foreign TV shows and possessing
dissident publications are considered “crimes against the state”. Those caught face execution
or being sent to labour camps. Even when, domestic mobile-phone service has been available
since 2008, with around five million users nationally, the phones are also hardwired to record
and transmit calls and text messages back to state security agencies for surveillance purposes.
Smartphone users do not have access to the global internet, but must connect through the state-
run intranet. In fact, the domestic and international mobile services are kept strictly separate,
and crackdowns on users of Chinese-origin phones have been reported. In September 2018, the
government reportedly blocked access to Chinese mobile networks prior to South Korean
President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang.