The News of 'North Korean Authorities Publicly Executing 30 Middle School Students' Requires Verification
Il Young Jeong
Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University
“According to sources”, “according to officials”...
These are expressions that commonly appear when watching news about North Korea. Are these "source-based" news reports delivering North Korea to us as it is? This article analyzes the problems of source-based news that refuse verification and raises the necessity of an information verification process.
News from “sources” and “officials” that refuse verification
On July 10, TV Chosun reported as an “exclusive” that the North Korean authorities had publicly executed more than 30 middle school students last week for watching South Korean dramas stored on USBs from anti-North Korean leaflets. An anonymous "government official" was cited as saying that "more than 30 middle school students who were caught watching dramas from a USB picked up from a balloon were publicly shot last week."
The next day, Chosun newspaper relayed the report without mentioning the source (the government official), stating that "North Korean authorities publicly executed more than 30 middle school students last week for watching South Korean dramas." This news, attributed to a "government official," quickly spread to other media outlets and online blogs with the sensational headline, "North Korean authorities publicly executed 30 middle school students."
On July 11, First Lady Kim Keon-hee, visiting the United States, also mentioned this news during a meeting at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, saying, “Recent reports of North Korea publicly executing more than 30 middle school students for watching South Korean dramas show the brutal reality of North Korea.”
But is this report true? On July 11, during a back briefing, the Ministry of Unification responded, “There is nothing we can confirm at the ministry level regarding the report.” Although the news came from a “government official,” the Ministry of Unification refused to confirm it. So how can we verify the news about the “public execution of 30 middle school students”?
Let’s review the process by which internal North Korean information is transmitted to domestic media. The so-called internal “sources” who deliver North Korean information do so through North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. This information is then passed on to the media by "government officials." There is no guarantee that the internal “sources” in North Korea directly verified this information. North Korean information, which passes through four to five stages, reaches our citizens under the name of “anonymous officials” and “anonymous sources” through the government and the media.
Unless these "government officials" and "North Korean sources," whose specific departments are unknown, disclose how they collected this information, it is extremely difficult to verify the news in a short time. So should we give up on verification?
Penalties under North Korea’s “Law on the Rejection of Reactionary Ideology and Culture”
North Korea punishes those who watch or distribute externally imported cultural content under the “Law on the Rejection of Reactionary Ideology and Culture” enacted in 2020. Let’s examine the penalties related to South Korean cultural content disclosed by our media.
"Anyone who watches, listens to, or keeps puppet (South Korean) movies, recordings, edited materials, books, songs, paintings, or photos, or imports or distributes puppet (South Korean) songs, paintings, photos, or designs, shall be sentenced to more than 5 years and less than 10 years of reform through labor. In severe cases, they shall be sentenced to more than 10 years of reform through labor. Anyone who imports or distributes puppet (South Korean) movies, recordings, edited materials, or books shall be sentenced to life reform through labor."
- Article 27 of the 'Law on the Rejection of Reactionary Ideology and Culture'
As confirmed in the above legal provision, watching South Korean cultural content is punishable by “more than five years and less than ten years of reform through labor.” Recently, some media outlets have disclosed testimonies from North Korean defectors about punishments for adolescents under this law. However, the punishment regulations above and the “public execution of 30 adolescents” reported by the media clearly differ.
Even conservatively interpreting the news that “30 adolescents were publicly shot for watching South Korean dramas on USBs from anti-North Korean leaflets” requires further verification. Even though North Korea is a dictatorship, it also emphasizes compliance with laws to control society. Even if there were exceptional punishment cases, the claim that 30 adolescents were publicly executed en masse, contrary to the stipulated penalties, raises many questions.
North Korea’s human rights situation is extremely serious, and our government and media should continue to provide reasonable criticism and alternatives. However, indiscriminate sensational reporting of North Korean internal information without a proper verification process hinders our citizens from properly understanding North Korea and seeking reasonable alternatives.
The Government and Media Need to Establish a Verification Process for North Korean Information
Due to the closed nature of North Korean society, obtaining internal information and revealing sources is very difficult. Consequently, it is somewhat inevitable that North Korean information is conveyed anonymously to our society. However, our government and media should strive to enhance the credibility of this information through a minimum verification process when delivering it to the public.
First, the government needs to establish a verification process for North Korean information. Through cross-checking and re-verification by experts, the credibility of the information should be increased, and any potential contamination during the information acquisition process should be identified. An external expert-included committee should also be established to inspect whether the verification process for North Korean information is properly operating.
The practice of relying on anonymous “government officials” and “Ministry of Unification officials” when delivering North Korean information to the public should be abolished. Information providers, as public officials, should reveal their affiliation and name and present the process by which the information was collected to enhance its credibility.
Our media should also make its verification efforts when delivering North Korean information to the public. Relatedly, the three major media organizations in South Korea (the Korean Journalists Association, the National Union of Mediaworkers, and the Korean PD Association) have established and are operating “Guidelines for Reporting and Producing for Peaceful Unification and Inter-Korean Reconciliation and Cooperation.”
The preamble of these guidelines states, “We strive to break away from the preconceptions and prejudices formed during the Cold War era and report and produce objectively to expand common ground between the two Koreas.” Specifically, the “Avoiding Speculative Reporting” section in the guidelines for practical reporting states, “Do not report various rumors irresponsibly circulated by domestic and foreign officials. Exceptions are made when the sources can be verified.” The “Selective Use of Defector Testimonies” section stipulates, “Only articles that can secure credibility from defector testimonies should be reported” and “if reports based on transmissions or speculations are made, it should be clearly stated as ‘transmissions’ or ‘speculations.’”
Unfortunately, it is questionable whether our media is properly adhering to these guidelines.
Due to the closed nature of North Korea, information about the country is easily distorted, relying on anonymity and facing difficulties in re-verification. If North Korean information is distorted, inter-Korean relations will be distorted, potentially amplifying conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, the government needs to operate a systematic verification process for North Korean information, the media must adhere to their established reporting guidelines, and civil society should also participate in re-verification efforts.
*IL-Young Jeong is a research professor at Sogang University in Seoul. His key research interests include North Korea's social control system, inter-Korean relations, and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
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