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Journalists in the press room of Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) watch a live broadcast of South Korean President Moon Jae-in heading to the Apr. 27 Inter-Korean Summit. (Yonhap News)
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Many news outlets requesting a bureau Pyongyang
The South Korean press is taking active steps to revive exchange with North Korean media as the climate of reconciliation in inter-Korean relations gathers momentum. Observers are calling for regular meetings and the assignment of local journalists as measures to prevent distorted and mistaken reporting on North Korea. Yonhap News and KBS have led the way in promoting inter-Korean press interchange. In 2002, they established separate cooperation contracts with the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and Korean Central Television (KCTV) to engage in content exchange and co-production. “While the South and North Korean press were involved in interchange during the administrations of Kim Dae-jung (1998–2003) and Roh Moo-hyun (2003–08), we were able to directly access and confirm information, which resulted in less speculative or distorted reporting on North Korea,” explained South Korean Committee for the Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration press headquarters co-representative Jeong Il-yong, who heads Yonhap’s unified media institution establishment team. “As a first step, it’s important to have regular meetings between South and North Korean journalists,” he suggested. To achieve this, Jeong called on the South Korean government to “open the path and lay the groundwork.” “They need to make press exchange an official part of the inter-Korean summit agenda,” he said. Yonhap News has been working valiantly to establish a Pyongyang bureau. The agency had the experience of preemptively assigning two resident staffers to Pyongyang in Dec. 1991 after the signing of the South-North Basic Agreement, only to have the plan fall through as inter-Korean relations rapidly cooled. KBS has also moved swiftly to hold discussions with North Korea on establishment of a Pyongyang bureau, video exchanges, and co-production. “We’ve restored and made contact through our old line for interchange with the North,” said Park Chan-wook, who heads the network’s inter-Korean exchange and cooperation team. ”See you after the North Korea-US summit” “We received a response saying, ‘See you after the June North Korea-US summit,’” he added. Due to the large number of areas in North Korea with poor reception, the activities of satellite broadcaster KT SkyLife are also drawing attention. SkyLife previously installed over 100 converters when South Korean companies entered Kaesong Industrial Complex so workers could view South Korean broadcasts. At the moment, all of the news outlets with branches in Pyongyang are from the foreign press, including the AP from the US and AFP from France. Bureaus in Pyongyang have been a longstanding dream for the South Korean press, which lacks “information sovereignty” on the Korean Peninsula and is forced to rely on second-hand routes for news. Many are now watching to see which outlet becomes the first to plant a flag. According to the Ministry of Unification, the number of South Korean news organizations reported as requesting a Pyongyang bureau is now in the double digits. The decision as to which ones are chosen lies with North Korea. Looking to the German example Some observers are suggesting a valuable reference point for South Korea’s current situation could be found in the example of Germany, where journalist exchanges during the East-West unification process helped allow for objective reporting on the two sides’ issues and the avoidance of inflammatory language. “West Germany’s public broadcasters promoted an accurate understanding by developing their own current events programs dealing with East and West German issues,” explained KAIST Science Journalism Graduate School research professor Kim Young-wook. “Rather than favorable or pro-unification pieces, they placed their primary emphasis as journalists on accurately reporting even contentious issues,” he noted. “Just as the West German government placed great emphasis in its negotiations on West German journalists establishing a presence in the East, the South Korean government also needs to be proactive in pursuing inter-Korean journalist exchanges,” Kim suggested. Pyo Chul-soo, who serves as chairman of the Korea Communications Commission’s inter-Korean broadcasting and communications exchange promotion committee, pledged to “work to allow the establish of a window for inter-Korean broadcasting and communications exchange once the North Korea-US summit is over.” The Korea Press Foundation is currently considering future support for feature and joint reporting and the establishment of a basic press center in Kaesong, the site of a joint liaison office. By Moon Hyun-sook, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
