Minju Joson

Minju Joson (also known as Minju Choson, ) is a state-run North Korean government newspaper. It is published in Pyongyang. It was started in 1945. It is the principal newspaper of the Cabinet of North Korea and the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.

History

Minju Joson was founded in 1945.[1] It began as Pyongyang Ilbo, the organ of the South Pyongan People's Committee. In October 1945, it changed its name to the current one, as it became the organ of the North Korean Provincial People's Committee, and took its current position in September 1948 when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was officially established.

It was intended as a North Korean equivalent of the Soviet newspaper Izvestiya. In the Soviet Union, Izvestiya was more focused on economy than Pravda, which was more propagandist in content. This distinction was reflected in the North Korean papers Minju Joson and Rodong Sinmun. Since 1967 – the year of the Kapsan faction incident – the content of Minju Joson has been identical in tone to that of Rodong Sinmun.[2]

The newspaper launched its website in 2019.

Overview

Minju Joson is the official newspaper of the government of North Korea. Specifically, it is the official organ of both the Cabinet of North Korea and the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly. It is considered the second most authoritative newspaper in the country, after Rodong Sinmun.[2] Unlike Rodong Sinmun, it handles more administrative matters, such as decisions and orders of the Cabinet, laws, regulations and policy issues. Content on both foreign and domestic policy, the economy, and culture is typical as well.[1] The official mission of the newspaper is to "arm the workers of the people's governing bodies and the national economic bodies with the Great Leader's revolutionary thought and Juche ideology, and to greatly help the entire society in accomplishing Juche exploits by holding the workers firmly around the Party and the Great Leader and forcefully organizing and mobilizing them".[3] Minju Choson is published in Pyongyang. Circulation as of 1974 is 200,000.[1] The editor-in-chief is Jong Ri-jong.[4]

New Year editorials

As a tradition since 1996, along with the two other main state run newspapers in North Korea: Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, Minju Joson publishes a joint New Year editorial that outlines the country's policies for the year. The editorials usually offer praise for the Songun policy, the government and leadership, and encourage the growth of the nation. They are also critical of the policies of South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Western governments towards the country.[5][6] On January 1, 2006, the agency sent out a joint-editorial from North Korea's state newspapers calling for the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea.[7] While annual January 1 editorials are a tradition among the papers, that year's brought attention from Western media outlets, by calling for a "nationwide campaign for driving out the U.S. troops".[8] The editorial made several references to Korean reunification. The 2009 editorial received similar attention, as criticism of United States policy was absent, and the admission of severe economic problems in the country.

type	Daily newspaper
format	Broadsheet
founded	1945
publisher	Cabinet of North Korea, Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
political position	Socialism, Juche, Songun, communism
headquarters	Pyongyang, North Korea
chief editor	Jong Ri-jong
circulation	200,000
circulation date	1974

History

Overview

New Year editorials

See also

External links

References