KCNA poser on Twitter says account intended for S. Koreans

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- The owner of an account on a popular U.S.-based social
networking service that initially claimed to be run by North Korea's state news
agency said the hoax was aimed at giving South Koreans a glimpse of first-hand
news from their communist neighbor.

The micro-blogging site Twitter, run by a U.S. venture start-up of the same name,
is a widely used platform employed by media outlets such as CNN to send out
real-time news in 140 characters or less.
An account with the address http://twitter.com/kcna_dprk began sending out
English news headlines by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's
state-run news agency, on April 24 and has since gained over 4,300 "followers"
who subscribe to receive the news feeds. Over 600 updates have been posted since
the account was launched.
However, in an e-mail interview with Yonhap News Agency, the owner said no one
behind the account was affiliated with the KCNA, but are "unofficial activists"
with Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), an international journalists' organization,
and writers for the satirical German-language Web site "Stupedia.org."
"We are unofficial activists from RSF and we were told that in South Korea, there
is no possibility to read North Korean news," the owner of the account said,
refusing to disclose his or her identity.
All North Korean-run Web sites are blocked in the South and can only be accessed
through special government authorization.
The individual said that the account was intended for South Koreans to be able to
get a first-hand glimpse of news from North Korea.
"Yes, this was my intention," the person said when asked whether South Koreans
were kept in mind when deciding to create the account.
"In our opinion, everyone should have the chance to form (their) own opinion. So
we created a KCNA Twitter account," the person said, adding the name KCNA was
chosen to give an authentic flavor.
Impersonation has been a challenge for Twitter, which earlier this year suspended
a bogus account set up in the name of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai
Lama. The U.S. company has recently introduced "authenticity badges" to fight
identity theft through its services.
In an e-mail response to questions from Yonhap News Agency, RSF clarified that
the account in question was not created on its "initiative" but said it was an
interesting effort.
"These people might think the same thing as we do here at RSF. We fully regret
that the North Korea's state news agency is not accessible in South Korea," RSF
said.
Yoo Chang-seon, a South Korean commentator and media critic, said in his latest
blog that controversies over identity are expected to continue as Twitter users
aren't required to submit personal information when joining the service.
"The veracity of an account can be confirmed after a few days, but there could be
confusion during that period," Yoo said. "Some people, like politicians, could
suffer serious damage from situations like that."
odissy@yna.co.kr
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