South Korea to Allow Citizens to Access North's State Paper
Government officials convened earlier Friday to deliberate reclassifying the communist state's flagship publication from "special materials" to "general materials"—a designation that would remove stringent access controls imposed over fears of pro-Pyongyang messaging, media confirmed.
Consensus emerged to advance the proposal, with the Unification Ministry announcing administrative processes will commence next week.
Under existing protocols, South Korean nationals can examine the newspaper exclusively at authorized locations including the ministry's North Korea Information Center, where identity verification and justification for access remain mandatory. The reclassification would grant unrestricted public access to print editions, though digital versions would stay prohibited.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) previously indicated it is "positively" evaluating expanded access to North Korean materials to uphold citizens' information rights and stimulate inter-Korean engagement.
During parliamentary briefings, the agency pledged to "proactively" assess removing online restrictions for North Korea-related websites.
The policy reversal follows sharp criticism from President Lee Jae Myung, who condemned existing limitations as "treating the public as those who can fall for propaganda and agitation" by the North.
Since assuming power in June, the Lee government has implemented tension-reduction measures, halting border loudspeaker operations and pressuring civic organizations to cease anti-Pyongyang campaigns—moves widely interpreted as rekindling diplomatic engagement.
Meanwhile, a separate ruling Friday cleared former Moon Jae-in administration figures—including National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, ex-NIS Director Park Jie-won, and former Defense Minister Suh Wook—of charges they concealed the 2020 killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea.
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