North Korea joins Facebook - agency

Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Seoul: 20 August: North Korea appears to have opened an account with the global social media site Facebook in its latest propaganda offensive tapping such highly popular sites as Twitter and YouTube.

A request, or “note,” seeking confirmation from the listed operator of the Facebook page was not immediately returned. An official for the South’s Korea Communications Commission said he is aware of the account, but declined to confirm whether it was run by North Korean authorities.

“We’re planning to open a formal session to review it and determine whether to block the page or not,” the watchdog official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At least 20 posts were seen at http://www.facebook.com/uriminzok as of Friday afternoon, containing recent statements from the North’s foreign ministry and photos of the country’s urban and rural landscapes. The page was accessed from a link seen in the latest message North Korea uploaded to its Twitter account, which South Korea blocked local access to earlier this week. “Followers,” or subscribers to the account, can still view recent messages through “feeds,” or automatic updates sent to their own accounts.

Uriminzokkiri means “on our own as a nation” in Korean. The Facebook page is connected to Pyongyang’s official website with the same name via the North’s Twitter messages, popularly dubbed “tweets.”

The first post on the presumed North Korean Facebook site was recorded as uploaded on Thursday, showing a landmark tower in Pyongyang. Some of the posts also showed propaganda music videos and a schoolgirl playing the piano and performing a children’s song.

Facebook is more expansive than Twitter and YouTube in that it allows users to upload a wide variety of multimedia contents and share them with “friends.” The presumed North Korean Facebook account had 33 friends when it was last viewed by Yonhap News Agency on Friday afternoon. It allows users to have up to 5,000 friends, a benchmark that enables the page to become a “fan page.”

North Korea appears to be expanding its propaganda warfare as South Korea and the United States step up their pressure on Pyongyang to admit to its sinking the South Korean warship Ch’o'nan [Cheonan] in March, killing 46 sailors. The North denies its role. It has posted a number of statements lashing out at Seoul and Washington on its Twitter page, which at least 8,700 subscribers were following before it was blocked here. South Korea allows its nationals to view online propaganda material posted by North Korea if they gain government clearance.

Last month, Pyongyang also opened an account with the global video-sharing site YouTube and started uploading clips that ridicule senior officials in Seoul and Washington. On Wednesday, South Korea warned its citizens that it may be considered illegal to interact with the North Korean Twitter account, apparently calling on them to refrain from reposting, or “retweeting,” the messages.

The Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. Their relations are at one of the worst points in history following the March sinking of the warship Cheonan.

(Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0920 gmt 20 Aug 10 via BBC Monitoring)

Related stories:

• N Korea joins Twitter to step up propaganda offensive
• North Korea registers YouTube account - South report