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human scum worse than a dog, who, backed by ex convicts, had plotted to destroy the economy before rescuing
the country by military coup and billions earned from hoarded precious metals.
They are serious about removing him from history, said Feinstein, except for passages such as the era and history will
eternally record and never forget the shuddering crimes committed by Jang Song Thaek, the enemy of the party,
revolution and people and heinous traitor to the nation, which concludes the KCNA piece. Meanwhile, Rodong
Simnun no longer knows Jang as anything other than a traitor, tweeted Korea historian and linguist, Remco Breuker.
Traffic to www.kcna.kp has never been higher, even than for the death of Kim Jong Il, as people now follow stories to
the source and are captivated by the apparent novelty of North Korea having an online presence, and one that uses such
bizarre language. Once they find KCNA, theres no going back. KCNAs legitimacy as an analytical source for the
North Korean states views is oft obscured by its saltier reportage.
Outside news sources are also sensationalist. While most Pyongyang watchers agree Jang was shot dead, Taiwanese
news reported hed been eaten by 120 dogs in front of Kim Jong Un and 300 government ministers in an hour-long
death. Feinstein also pointed to a globally syndicated article before Jangs trial that precipitously claimed www.kcna.kp
had cleared out all Jang articles, when in fact articles mentioning Jang were still up. Basically, KCNA has a bad search
function, said Feinstein.
While the case provides a tantalising view of what the Soviets might have done in the Internet age, it has also pushed
out of the headlines another North Korea story, the release of American tourist Merrill Newman who had been held in
North Korea since October on charges of espionage relating to his military service in Korea during the 1950-1953 war.
Newman, who had gone to North Korea as a tourist, said he had not understood quite how far the North Korean state
does not consider the war to be over something arguably partly attributable to the US media barely ever mentioning
the conflict, despite the country still being not at peace with North Korea.
Ironically, KCNA Watch has been blocked in South Korea since 25 October. Visitors to the site hit a Korea
Communications Standards Commission (KSCS) blocking screen that says connection to this website you tried to
access is blocked as it provides illegal/hazardous information, under the 1948 National Security Act, which restricts
anti-state acts or material that endanger national security, including all printed and online matter from Pyongyang.
Civilians seeking to analyse KCNA material in South Korea need official clearance, with the data viewed under armed
guard and deleted immediately afterwards, said Feinstein. The block extends to foreign embassies in Seoul and is under
increasing criticism as a blanket weapon for stifling dissent. In August the UN special rapporteur on human rights
Margaret Sekaggya called it seriously problematic for the exercise of freedom of expression.
Sybil Jones is a London based writer