Wired broadcast systems serve as a primary propaganda tool in North Korea, transmitting information about the supreme leader’s activities and state policies directly into private homes. All households are required by law to have a speaker installed. Broadcasts typically run from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., ensuring that North Korean people receive state messaging from the moment they wake until they go to sleep.
The source said the timing is directly linked to the recently concluded Ninth Party Congress. “The purpose is to instill the party’s policies and lines decided at the congress into the people,” the source said. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an editorial on March 2 underscoring the need to study congress documents deeply, describing ideological preparation as the essential first step toward achieving the goals of the new five-year plan.
Resentment grows as households bear the cost
Despite the mandatory nature of the system, actual listenership is low. The source noted that in practice, fewer than one or two out of every five households actively tune in. Many people had not even realized their equipment was broken until inspections were announced, prompting a last-minute scramble to repair or replace units.
The financial burden has fueled resentment. Replacement speakers cost between 15,000 and 23,000 North Korean won (approximately $0.70 to $1.10) per unit — enough to purchase more than 2 kilograms of corn. For economically struggling households, the expense is significant. “We have to spend money on equipment for a broadcast nobody listens to anyway,” one person was quoted as saying. Others called for the state to provide replacement units free of charge, arguing that if the authorities want people to listen, they should bear the cost.
Households that fail inspections face public shaming, and the entire neighborhood watch unit risks collective punishment, which is the primary reason people comply despite their frustrations.
The inspections have also been confirmed in North Hamgyong province. A source there said checks are underway in Chongjin and in rural neighborhood watch units as well. “People are already being put through study sessions at the organizational level right after the congress ended,” the source said. “Now they’re being told to hear the same content at home through the broadcast. Nobody welcomes this.”
North Korean authorities are expected to continue using broadcasts, document study sessions and lectures to repeatedly reinforce ninth party congress decisions in the weeks ahead, maintaining tight ideological control over the population.
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