ID :
73959
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 11:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/73959
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean media makes rare slip-ups during Clinton's visit
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korean media outlets, whose outputs and their timing are strictly dictated by the state, made repeated blunders while reporting on former U.S. President Bill Clinton's two-day visit to the country.
North Korea first reported Clinton's arrival around noon on Tuesday through Radio
Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, its state-run radio
channels.
Both made on-air blunders, apparently due to miscommunication between the anchors
and producers.
"Former U.S. Pres...." the male anchor of Radio Pyongyang started out in Korean.
The broadcast was abruptly suspended mid-sentence, followed by nearly 10 seconds
of silence and then five minutes of music before the anchor returned to say
Clinton arrived in the North Korean capital.
The Korean Central Broadcasting Station, which also runs a noon news program,
began the news program five minutes later than scheduled after airing background
music.
Observers here speculate that the two stations erred while making last-minute
coordination to report Clinton's arrival simultaneously.
Clinton departed Pyongyang with two freed American journalists on Wednesday,
ending a brief visit of less than 24 hours. North Korean media said he and North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il held "exhaustive" talks in exchanging a "broad" range
of opinions.
The former president went into Pyongyang on a mission to obtain the release of
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists from San Francisco-based media
group Current TV, who were arrested March 17 near the North Korea-China border
while reporting on North Korean defectors. They were sentenced to 12 years of
hard labor by the North on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's wire news agency, dispatched
conflicting reports on Clinton's departure Wednesday.
The KCNA in its English-language report said just before 6 a.m. that he left
North Korea, only to cancel the report shortly before 8 a.m.
After about 10 minutes, the KCNA reported again that Clinton had left Pyongyang.
Other radio stations then followed suit.
"This is very rare," Kim Sang-gook, a North Korea media analyst at Seoul's
Unification Ministry, said. "We can only assume that there may have been some
form of internal miscommunication."
North Korea first reported Clinton's arrival around noon on Tuesday through Radio
Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, its state-run radio
channels.
Both made on-air blunders, apparently due to miscommunication between the anchors
and producers.
"Former U.S. Pres...." the male anchor of Radio Pyongyang started out in Korean.
The broadcast was abruptly suspended mid-sentence, followed by nearly 10 seconds
of silence and then five minutes of music before the anchor returned to say
Clinton arrived in the North Korean capital.
The Korean Central Broadcasting Station, which also runs a noon news program,
began the news program five minutes later than scheduled after airing background
music.
Observers here speculate that the two stations erred while making last-minute
coordination to report Clinton's arrival simultaneously.
Clinton departed Pyongyang with two freed American journalists on Wednesday,
ending a brief visit of less than 24 hours. North Korean media said he and North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il held "exhaustive" talks in exchanging a "broad" range
of opinions.
The former president went into Pyongyang on a mission to obtain the release of
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists from San Francisco-based media
group Current TV, who were arrested March 17 near the North Korea-China border
while reporting on North Korean defectors. They were sentenced to 12 years of
hard labor by the North on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's wire news agency, dispatched
conflicting reports on Clinton's departure Wednesday.
The KCNA in its English-language report said just before 6 a.m. that he left
North Korea, only to cancel the report shortly before 8 a.m.
After about 10 minutes, the KCNA reported again that Clinton had left Pyongyang.
Other radio stations then followed suit.
"This is very rare," Kim Sang-gook, a North Korea media analyst at Seoul's
Unification Ministry, said. "We can only assume that there may have been some
form of internal miscommunication."
