Defectors to Broadcast Hard Life in North Korea
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
A radio station run by North Korean defectors here plans to broadcast real-life stories narrated by North Koreans currently living in the secretive state.
Kim Seong-min, a representative of the Seoul-based Free North Korea Radio and also a defector, said Wednesday that the station will air the program, titled "Voice of People," twice a day between Friday and Saturday.
The seven-minute insert will contain six people's descriptions on the recent currency revaluation, a crackdown on marketeering and other complaints, he said.
Late last year, the reclusive state knocked two zeros off from the nominal value of its currency in an apparent attempt to fight inflation and black marketeering.
But this sudden measure is believed to have caused chaos in local markets.
"This will be the first program recorded by North Koreans who are currently residing in the North," he said. "In order to deliver the lively voices of North Korean people, we will continue to broadcast this kind program once a week."
It is illegal for North Koreans to listen to any broadcasts except on state-run radio and additionally, all legal radios are reportedly tuned with a limited number of channels.
However, North Koreans are presumed to secretly listen to programs broadcast from the outside world.