The United States wants to break the North Korean dictatorship from within – Joop

The United States wants to break the regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un from within. To do this, the people of North Korea need to get more information about what is really going on in the country, but also in the rest of the world, in the hope that North Koreans will “ask more questions” and will eventually rise up against their oppression.

Over the next five years, the United States will allocate 50 million dollars (about 46 million euros) to the project, which must break the country’s strict censorship. This is done, among other things, by transmitting messages via radio. Attempts are also being made to provide North Koreans with new information via the Internet, but this is probably so closed that it is impossible for the population to receive these messages.

The Pyongyang regime has tightened the already strict censorship in the country in recent months. This includes cracking down on North Koreans caught listening to foreign radio broadcasts or watching smuggled foreign movies or TV programs. There are rumors that teenagers who listened to the nearby South Korean K-pop popular music movement were sent to penal colonies.

Eujin Kim, a member of Freedom Speakers International, an organization that teaches English to North Korean refugees and who managed to flee to South Korea with his family, told DW:

Twenty years ago, very little news about the outside world came to North Korea, but today many people have seen news, TV shows or movies from overseas there. But over the past year or so, it’s clear the government is going the extra mile to control news coming into the country. The regime is very worried about this because it threatens them. Just a few days ago I learned that a teenager had been executed for watching a South Korean movie.”

Seoul-based news outlet Daily NK reported in late December that North Korean citizens are required to attend screenings of government films depicting the public humiliation and punishment of those caught watching foreign films. These films are described by the regime as “dangerous poison”. Government footage reportedly shows groups of people being abused by crowds in a sports stadium with their heads bowed awaiting public condemnation.

This month, the North Korean government passed a law banning citizens from using foreign terms, both orally and in writing. Foreign fashion and hairstyles will also be banned and penalties for accessing foreign media will be increased. With these measures, Pyongyang wants to ensure that it becomes increasingly difficult for North Koreans to share their thoughts.

The American project is named after Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American student accused of stealing a flag during a visit to the country in 2016. After a show trial, he was sentenced to years of jail. While incarcerated in North Korea, he was so abused that he died shortly after his release – in a coma – to the United States.