After about one month since Kim Jong-il's death, the Associated Press (AP) has opened up a full news bureau in North Korea. Of course most people are wondering how any fair and balanced news reporting could be executed from within the DPRK's borders, but executive editor Kathleen Carroll assuredly noted from Pyongyang that the new office will adhere to the same standards and practices as all of the other AP bureaus.
AP, for the most part, represents a rigid Westernized approach to journalistic standards (at least compared to the likes of North Korean media). The new Pyongyang location will be an unprecedented direction for both the news organization as well as the North Korean government, which is known as one of the most mysterious and controlled systems in the world -- a big difference from South Korea, where AP has had a busy news bureau for decades now.
At this point I'm still skeptical. Chinese state media is currently busy "curating" public information (especially things that come from Western society) to their own citizens in a bid to maintain power and influence. What chance does AP have in outputting objective news items from within North Korea? I will be very impressed if this new bureau is able to do the job it claims.
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