In 2011, the Associated Press (AP) told the world that it was opening a bureau in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This decision was met with much criticism and disdain in the media world, and in the subsequent years the AP bureau in Pyongyang has remained the object of much skepticism, if not outright hostility.

The criticism is not completely unfounded. The permanent staff of the bureau are North Korean nationals recommended by the North Korean government – many suspect that they are also officers of the North Korean intelligence services. The bureau is occasionally