N Korea:The country with the deafening silence

North Korea is one of the \\\’least-known\\\’ countries today. We know next to nothing about the state of the North Korean people. 

 

While 2011 has seen the fall of three dictators in the Middle-east, and many people attribute the mass uprisings to social media and greater flow of information, North Korea remains in an \\\’information dark-age\\\’ with no signs of the communist dictatorship easing its control over news outlets and freedom of speech. 

 

The accounts available in the press are often based on second-hand reports from North Korean dissidents living in the South. These dissidents have families, friends in North Korea and they remain the primary sources of information coming from the North. 

 

Over the last several decades the Kim-Jon-il regime has maintained a strict control over the flow of information.

 

No private news outlets are allowed to function. There are a number of govt-controlled radio and TV stations besides state-run newspapers. 

 

The regime has successfully managed to prevent the North Korean people from accessing and sharing information. But, with the growth of mobile phones and new technology (by some estimates nearly 200,000 North Koreans own mobile phones) more information has started to trickle out than before. However, it remains a \\\’\\\’drop out of the ocean\\\’\\\’.

 

So, how does the average North Korean feel about the ruling regime? What impact, if any, have the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya had on the people in North Korea?

 

The latest investigation report by non-profit group Reporters without Borders, offers valuable insights into the Kim-Jong-il regime and it\\\’s iron-like grip over the flow of information.