 | |
 Front page on 12 November 2011 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |
| Publisher | Rodong News Agency |
| Editor-in-chief | Kim Pyong-ho |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Political alignment | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Headquarters | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Country | North Korea |
| Circulation | 600,000 (as of 2015)[1] |
| Website | rodong |
| Rodong Sinmun | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 로동신문 |
|---|---|
| Hancha | 勞動新聞 |
| Revised Romanization | Rodong Sinmun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Rodong Sinmun |
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Rodong Sinmun (IPA:[ɾo.doŋɕin.mun];Korean: 로동신문;lit. labor news) is a North Koreanofficial newspaper of record[2] of theCentral Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on 1 November 1945, asChŏngro (Korean: 정로;Hancha: 正路;lit. correct path), serving as a communication channel for theNorth Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea; it was renamed in September 1946. Quoted frequently by theKorean Central News Agency (KCNA) and international media, it is regarded as a source of official North Korean viewpoints on many issues.
An English-language version ofRodong Sinmun was launched in January 2012.[3]
The editor-in-chief isKim Pyong-ho.[4] A list of articles published inRodong Sinmun since 1946 is available online on the websites of theInformation Center on North Korea (unibook.unikorea.go.kr) and the North Korea information portal (nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr).[5]
Rodong Sinmun is published every day of the year and usually contains six pages.[6]
Following the purge and execution ofJang Song-thaek,Rodong Sinmun deleted some 20,000 articles from its web archives,[7] while others were edited to omit his name.[8]
Rodong Sinmun content can be accessed over theMirae WiFi network in North Korea.[9]
Since 1996,Rodong Sinmun, theKorean Central News Agency,Minju Joson, andJoson Inmingun has published a joint New Year editorial that outlines the country's policies for the year.[10][11] The editorials usually offer praise for theSongun policy, the government and leadership, and encourage the growth of the nation. They are also critical of the policies of South Korea,Japan, theUnited States,Israel and Western governments towards North Korea and/or its allies.[12][13][14]On 1 January 2006, the agency sent out a joint-editorial from North Korea's state newspapers calling for the withdrawal ofAmerican forces from South Korea.[10] While annual 1 January editorials are a tradition among the papers, that year's brought attention fromWestern media outlets, by calling for a "nationwide campaign for driving out the U.S. troops".[15] The editorial made several references toKorean reunification. The 2009 editorial received similar attention, as criticism of United States policy was absent, and the admission of severe economic problems in North Korea. The editorial also made reference to denuclearisation on theKorean Peninsula, in what analysts claimed was a "hopeful" sign.[16][17] This was echoed again in its 2010 editorial, which called for an end to hostilities with the United States and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula.[18]
The 2011 joint editorial edition,[11] aside from its calls for a denuclearized Korea and for a slowdown of tensions between the two Koreas, has for the first time, mentioned the rising light industries of North Korea, given as a reason for an upcoming upsurge in the national economy in the new year and for the achievement of the Kangsong Taeguk national mission. The practice of a joint New Year editorial ended in 2013 when Kim Jong Un delivered the first New Year speech on television in 19 years.[19]
In June 2018,Rodong Sinmun devoted a four-page feature to theNorth Korea–United States summit, welcoming its results. The article carried the text of the declaration in full. In addition, it mentioned security guarantees andDonald Trump's pledge to cease thejoint military exercises with South Korea, and failed to mention the promise Kim had allegedly made to Trump about closing down a test site for missile engines.[20]
North Korean ruling party organ the Rodong Sinmun can be accessed through the network, the report added, as can online-shopping outlet Manmulsang, video-on-demand service Manbang, Mokran video, the Sci-Tech Complex website, and Yeolpung.
'The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean Peninsula,' the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, citing a New Year editorial carried by newspapers including Rodong Sinmun and Joson Inmingun.
