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Worst for Press Freedom: North Korea
Why North Korea is the Least Free in the World:
North Korea is home to the world's most repressive regime. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un tightly controls the press along with internet access and content. North Koreans caught accessing foreign media are sent to concentration camps, says Reporters Without Borders.
At the 2019 summit in Vietnam with President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un stunned the world by answering a question from a foreign journalist. Asked if he felt confident about the negotiations, Kim replied, "It's too early to tell." The negotiations failed.
Detained and Interrogated:
Foreign journalists are often harassed and intimidated when reporting in North Korea. In May 2015, North Korean officials accused BBC correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes of publishing articles critical of the regime and interrogated him for 10 hours. He was forced to write a formal apology before he was expelled from the country.
A Propaganda Machine
North Korea's media is a propaganda tool for the regime. At nuclear summits in Singapore and Vietnam in 2018 and 2019, the North Korean press was deployed to shadow Kim Jong Un and portray his as a strong leader on an international stage. Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, a vice-director of propaganda, manages his carefully controlled public image. |