Rodong Sinmun (English: Newspaper of the workers) is a North Korean newspaper and the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, published by the Rodong News Agency. It is the most widely read newspaper in the country. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as Chǒngro (정로; 正路; "right path"), serving as a communication channel for the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea. It was renamed in September 1946 to its current name upon the steady development of the Workers' Party of Korea. Quoted frequently by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and international media, it is regarded as a source of official viewpoints on many issues.

The English language version of Rodong Sinmun was launched in January 2012.

Rodong Sinmun is published every day of the year and usually contains six pages. The editorial, where the Workers' Party expresses its view on different issues, and commands passed down by the party are usually regarded as the most important pieces of information.^{[citation needed]} There is typically no content in such areas as lifestyle, or TV, radio and other entertainment.^{[citation needed]} It is said that it has a hundred or so reporters, and the cut-off time for publishing articles is noon on the day before the scheduled publication date.^{[citation needed]} The newspapers are mainly delivered to organisations such as schools, cooperative farms and working places, but for those in high positions in the government or the party there can be individual deliveries.^{[citation needed]} However, it's now available in PDF format at its webpage.

Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The Worm" and was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities. Playing small forward in his early years before becoming a power forward, Rodman earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships (1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998). His biography at NBA.com states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's #10 jersey. Later that same year, Rodman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Rodman experienced an unhappy childhood and was shy and introverted in his early years. After aborting a suicide attempt in 1993, he reinvented himself as a "bad boy" and became notorious for numerous controversial antics. He dyed his hair in artificial colors, presented himself with many piercings and tattoos and regularly disrupted games by clashing with opposing players and officials. He famously wore a wedding dress to promote his autobiography. Rodman pursued a high-profile affair with singer Madonna and was briefly married to actress Carmen Electra.

Kim Jong-il (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim; 16 February 1941; official biography claims 1942 – 17 December 2011) was the supreme leader of North Korea (DPRK) from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK Kim Il-sung following the elder Kim's death in 1994. Kim Jong-il was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, and the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth-largest standing army in the world.

In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him as the "supreme leader". He was also referred to as the "Dear Leader", "our Father", and "the General", among others. His son Kim Jong-un was promoted to a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party and is his successor. In 2010, he was ranked 31st in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's Most Powerful People. The North Korean government announced his death on 19 December 2011.

Following his demise, he was succeeded by his third son Kim Jong-un. He was proclaimed the Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 2012. His birthday is a public holiday in the country.

Ri Se Gwang (born January 21, 1985 in the S. Hamgyong Province) is a North Korean artistic gymnast. He won a bronze medal on vault at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He was the first North Korean ever to win a gold medal on vault at the Asian Games, where he performed solidly at the 2006 Asian Games was the first one for North Korea on that apparatus.

In 2009, he successfully performed an extremely difficult new vault, a Tsukahara (1/4 entry in the first flight) on the vaulting table, followed by full twist triple backwards salto in tuck position. The new vault is named after Ri. The vault is valued a 7.2 A-score, the highest difficulty value in the world, together with Li Xiaopeng's vault.

Ri competed in the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and qualified first for the vault final. He finished 7th in the final after a fall on his first vault and going out of bounds on his second vault, with an average score of 15.650.