Daily NK
 | |
| Format | Online |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Han Ki-hong |
| Publisher | Park In-ho |
| Editor-in-chief | Shin Joo-hyun |
| Founded | December 2004 |
| Language | Korean, Chinese, Japanese, English |
| Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
| Website | www.DailyNK.com |
The Daily NK (stylized as DailyNK) is an online newspaper focusing on issues relating to North Korea. The site, run by citizens of both Koreas and a small handful of staff and volunteers from third countries, is based in South Korea and reports stories obtained from inside North Korea via a network of informants inside the country.[1]
The Daily NK is a recipient of funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, an NGO run by Carl Gershman and funded by the U.S. Congress.[2] The Daily NK's President is Han Ki Hong.[3]
History
Founded in December 2004,[4] the Daily NK covers mainly democracy and human rights issues in North Korea. It publishes mainly in Korean, but also in English, Chinese and Japanese. Its sources inside North Korea communicate with the Seoul-based office using Chinese cell phones along the North Korea-China border.[5] It also has several correspondents based in China, who interview people escaping from North Korea.[6] The site also has stories from North Korean defectors[7] and monitors output of North Korean media.[8]
Its reports are frequently cited by international media.[9] North Korea's National Reconciliation Council, in an official statement carried by KCNA, has criticised Daily NK for what it called "anti-DPRK smear campaigns".[10] Because of the difficulties of reporting from North Korea, some reports are inaccurate: Ha Tae-keung of Open Radio for North Korea, a radio station closely associated with Daily NK, concedes that “Because our sources have never been trained in journalism, exaggeration is a problem for us", while Lee Chan-ho, a chief analyst at the South Korean Ministry of Unification, warned that the “flood of raw, unconfirmed reports” was unconstructive.[11] However, the New York Times reports that as of 2010, the quality and accuracy of news published in Daily NK has improved as they have been able to recruit more North Korean intellectuals and former high-ranking officials who defected to the South.[12]
Hwang Jang-yop, a former major politician in North Korea who was Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972 to 1983, contributed to a column on the site.[13] He defected from North Korea in 1997 by walking into the South Korean embassy in Beijing, making him the highest ranking defector from the country.
References
- ^ "Nimble Agencies Sneak News Out of North Korea: report". New York Times. January 24, 2010.
- ^ National Endowment for Democracy
- ^ "Company". Daily NK.
- ^ "'인터넷 뉴스'로 북한 정보 갈증 해소" (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. December 16, 2004.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (January 24, 2010). "'Nimble Agencies Sneak News Out of North Korea'". The New York Times.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2006). A matter of survival. Vol. 18. Human Rights Watch. p. 20.
- ^ "Defector's Story". Daily NK.
- ^ "NK Media Output". Daily NK.
- ^ For example, citations in Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Chosun Ilbo, BBC, The Independent, Dantri - Vietnam, China Daily.
- ^ "NRC Accuses S. Korea of Using "North Defectors" for Smear Campaign". KCNA. March 23, 2010.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (January 24, 2010). "Nimble Agencies Sneak News Out of North Korea". The New York Times.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (January 24, 2010). "Nimble Agencies Sneak News Out of North Korea". The New York Times.
- ^ "With Hwang Jang-yop". Daily NK.