Foreign media based in South Korea have been asked to pay tens of thousands of dollars per month to use North Korean state television, NK News has learned, including fees that will be paid directly to Pyongyang.

The hefty cost of the new satellite service, which is being facilitated by Seoul’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) and the Foundation of Inter-Korea Cooperation, specifically includes the collection of copyright fees which will be paid directly to the DPRK in the future.

That makes it likely that the request would require foreign media to breach multiple layers of the international sanctions regime in