14 DAY TRIAL // North Korea's apparent venture into social networking got a lot of coverage and for good reason, the secluded country rarely interacts with the outside world, least of which via social media.
It turns out though, that the country is not behind any of the YouTube, Twitter or Facebook accounts that have sprung up, according to an official spokesman. Instead, they have been set up by 'fans' of the country and the regime from China and Japan, with no direct connection to the government.
According to Forbes, who contacted the North Korea through official means, the country has no involvement with those accounts and has no plans to establish an official online presence on social sites any time soon.
“Any kind of IT-based communication is interesting for the DPRK,” Alejandro Cao de Benos, a special delegate for North Korea’s Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, told Forbes. “[However] such websites will never be run by our Government directly.”
The YouTube account and later the Twitter account presented an overtly positive of the country and linked to the official website, so many assumed that they were run by people with direct ties with the government.
The Facebook account, which was created recently and has since been removed due to policy violations, appears to have been a prank set up by different people than the Twitter and YouTube ones.
Internet access is hard to come by in North Korea and Twitter along with many sites are blocked.
Still, it wasn't just the press that took it for granted, South Korea went on to block the North Korean Twitter account. According to officials, the account contained 'illegal' content, justifying the ban.
North Korea has an explanation for all the misleading press coverage, it's all part of a bigger campaign.
“We think that there is plenty of misinformation, speculation and sensationalism regarding the reality of North Korea,” Cao de Benos said. “This is the hypocrisy of a society that calls itself ‘democratic’ but is in reality fearful of the ideological power and influence from our side.”