Rodong Sinmun ("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 Chongro (정로/正路), 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 other international media, it is regarded as a source of official viewpoints on many issues.

Published on every day of the year and usually containing six pages, a typical day's Rodong Sinmun consists of the following:

• First page: The movements of Kim Jong Il, the country's leader, and an editorial.
• Second page: Educational material on communism.
• Third page: Domestic economic affairs.
• Fourth page: National and international news.
• Fifth page: Condemnation of South Korea.
• Sixth page: Condemnation of the United States and Japan.

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. There is typically no content in such areas as lifestyle, or TV, radio and other entertainment. It is said that it has a hundred or so reporters, and the cutoff time for publishing articles is noon on the day before the scheduled publication date. The newspapers are mainly delivered to organisations such as schools, cooperative farms and working places, but for those in high positions in the government on the party there can be individual deliveries.

About the spelling of the name

South Korean media often spell the name as Rodong Shinmun, due to the South Korean modification on the McCune-Reischauer romanisation for the 시 Hangul Jamo combination from si to shi. However, as used by North Korea and other international media, its official English name is Rodong Sinmun, just as it would be in standard McCune-Reischauer.

External Link

• Rodong Sinmun on KCNA (Korean)

References

• 北朝鮮メディアガイド (Japanese)