Learning from Josef Stalin, North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung knew early on that it was essential for Pyongyang to take complete control of the emerging post-war North Korea information environment.

Radios and TV were built or adapted to only receive official state-run stations, and it wasn’t long before print publications were leading forces behind an emerging Kim Il Sung idolization campaign.And at the same time the possession of foreign, especially Korean, newspapers and magazines would become a serious crime.

Arguably these policies have served the Kim family well, minimizing domestic criticism while making political opposition unthinkable. Of course, the