Christopher Green is the manager of international affairs at the Daily NK, an online newspaper dedicated to reporting real news from within North Korea. This talk, which was part of NKnet's Spring 2012 speaker series on North Korea human rights, runs about 43 minutes and then Chris takes lots of questions. Read a summary of this talk or a more complete version of the timeline below at: http://en.nknet.org/category/events-programs/speaker-series/ To learn more about North Korea, please visit http://en.nknet.org _Video Timeline_ 4:11 What is information freedom in/for North Korea? 6:49 Why do I need to know this stuff? - It leads to a better life. 7:37 Why do the North Korean people need to know this stuff? 8:27 Information Freedom Gang: 1 Daily NK & broadcasters (Open Radio for North Korea, Radio Free Chosun, North Korea Reform Radio) 2 NKnet, Citizens' Alliance, NKIS, NKSC 3 Creative individuals 11:52 How does Daily NK get info out of North Korea? - defector reporters use Chinese cellphones to talk with personal networks back home 19:49 Isn't it dangerous? - But now the NK people have an outlet. "Ultimately, they want to tell their stories, because that's what human beings want to do" 20:53 Why does this matter? Case Study 1 - How does the Daily NK know what its sources say is true? -Cross-check info handed down in Inminban from area to area eg: currency reform end of 2009 -smaller stories are harder to cross-check 30:55 Case Study 2 Pyongyang's skyline looks "just like Singapore" - the regime wants you to believe the new Mansudae apartments are really good - many students died on construction sites - ran out of materials to finish the interiors 35:28 Case Study 3 AP report: new hydroelectric power station will address Pyongyang power shortage but DNK report: Heechon Opening Hides Troubles: http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500#=9077 - currently it's just a dam, doesn't generate any electricity 38:11 Case Study 4 - news the KCNA doesn't bother to tell you -Helicopter Crash Kills NK Commerce Minister http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=8828&cataId;=nk00100 -6-7 Dead as Armed Men Flee for China http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500#=9173 43:41 Q: How is information circulated in North Korea, how do North Koreans share info that the government may not want them to share? 45:50 Q: Did you get to work with Hwang Jang Yop, what was he like? 46:55 Q: Any internet presence, online connectivity? 47:35 Q: Over last 7-10 years, has the paranoia about talking with each other inside NK about the government gone down? 49:26 Q: Do you provide payment to your sources, has anything happened to your sources? 51:19 Q: Are cyberattacks frequent? 52:10 Q: (Two weeks ago) Lankov said markets will bring the NK system down. Do you believe the information flow into/out of NK will partner with the markets? 53:13 Q: Why are there so many defector radio stations broadcasting to North Korea, would it be better for them to combine? 55:11 Q: What is the process becoming a source inside North Korea? 57:12 Q: Was your network of sources disrupted at the time that journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were caught along the border in 2009? 58:05 Q: Within the context of the recent missile failure and the US's subsequent termination of food aid, do you see North Korea's future ending in a cataclysmic way or a slow, gradual process? 59:03 Q: How widespread is the knowledge from the outside that's getting into North Korea? 1:00:16 Q: How did the North Korean media report the rocket launch failure? 1:05:50 Q: Please comment on what defectors have said about their experiences with South Korean or international media. 1:09:17 Q: What percentage of North Koreans have TVs? 1:10:42 Q: What's the history of the Daily NK? 1:12:30 Q: What's your relationship like with major international news agencies and how do they see Daily NK and how do they get their information? 1:13:39 Q: What's the utility of the views & information your provide and how do you think that could be used more effectively if more people knew about it? 1:14:56 Q: AP Bureau in Pyongyang 1:16:29 Q: What sites do you read for analysis? 1:17:38 Q: Have you seen less or more info coming out (or other trends) since Kim Jong Un came to power? 1:19:23 Q: Are there common characteristics among your sources? What kind of person steps up to do this? 1:20:49 Q: Since markets are so important to the information flow, did you have problems getting info out when they cracked down on the markets? 1:22:21 Q: Have changes in South Korea's domestic politics affected your ability to work? (Sunshine era) 1:23:38 Q: Even if the South Korean government doesn't help you, does it interfere? If you contact people in North Korea, doesn't that run afoul of the National Security Law? 1:24:32 Q: Is there still a large divide between the show city of Pyongyang and everywhere else?

• published: 25 Aug 2013
• views: 8