September 27, 2023
What If?

What if North Korea stops publishing state media for international audiences?

Paranoia about leaks could compel regime to curtail access, cutting off key source of information about DPRK

Editor’s note: What If? is an NK News series featuring scenarios about North Korea’s future. Articles in this series draw on verified facts and rigorous analysis to explore hypothetical events in the years and decades ahead.

It’s Feb. 2024 — four years after North Korea closed its borders due to COVID-19 — and the Ministry of State Security has expanded its influence to become one of the most powerful agencies in the DPRK government.