Politics
South Koreans now free to read North’s newspaper, once banned as seditious
Packed with missile tests, propaganda hailing the great leaders, and tirades against the United States, North Korea’s top newspaper was long considered so incendiary that South Korea banned its citizens from reading it.
But dovish President Lee Jae Myung is now seeking better ties with Pyongyang and has joked that he doesn’t believe the public will “become commies” by reading the Rodong Sinmun.
That means from this week, South Koreans can access the publication — whose name means “Workers’ Newspaper” — at select locations without state approval.
Prospective readers no longer have to identify themselves and submit an application explaining their purpose, though they still must visit public libraries to view a copy.
Opinions in the South Korean capital Seoul were divided on allowing free access to “propaganda” from Pyongyang.
All media in North Korea is tightly controlled by the government, and the Rodong Sinmun is the mouthpiece of the repressive ruling Workers’ Party.
“It’s like giving people access to Daesh propaganda,” said Park Si-won, a 22-year-old university student, referring to the militant group also known as Islamic State.
“You wouldn’t do that unless you wanted them to join the terrorist group.”
Hong Se-wung, 81, called the change “undesirable”.
“To allow people to read the newspaper of a hostile country, or to lead them towards reading it, the very idea itself is extremely unsettling.”
But others were skeptical that South Koreans would go out of their way to seek out the paper.
“Many people these days don’t even read physical newspapers anyway. I doubt they’ll make the effort to read Rodong Sinmun,” said Son Yu-jin, 27, a graduate student.
‘Symbolic change’
South Korea and the nuclear-armed North remain officially at war, and Seoul long banned all access to Pyongyang’s propaganda on security grounds.
Many restrictions remain in place — North Korean websites are still inaccessible from South Korean IP addresses.
At Seou’s national library on Friday, AFP journalists saw a handful of people flipping through copies of Rodong Sinmun, its pages replete with photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — whose name is always carried in bold type.
But elsewhere, AFP struggled to find a library that had actually implemented the new rules.
“Practically speaking, this is really a symbolic change,” said Chad O’Carroll, whose specialist website NK News hosts a platform for reading North Korean media.
“Overall, it would be much easier for students of North Korea studies to work with these materials if the South Korean government made the websites of North Korean state media accessible.”
That, he said, would require politically difficult changes to Seoul’s security law.
Seoul has vowed to “steadily expand access” to information on North Korea as it works to improve ties that are at their worst levels in years.
The move is not reciprocal — North Koreans remain banned from accessing any South Korean content at all and risk heavy penalties if caught doing so.
Lee has described the relaxation of Cold War-era censorship as an “opportunity to understand the reality of North Korea accurately”.
And businesswoman Bae Jee-woo agreed.
“Even if South Korean citizens can access the Rodong Sinmun directly, they would be able to interpret it based on their own standards and philosophies,” she told AFP.
“It’s highly unlikely that they would be significantly influenced by North Korea’s propaganda or anything like that.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed, as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Several countries, global bodies and prominent groups responded to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, urging de-escalation.
Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced the targeting of Iran’s supreme leader in joint strikes by the United States and Israel, saying such actions were a “violation of the norms of international law”.
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said that it was an age-old convention that the heads of state or government should not be targeted.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over the violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
China
China said it “strongly condemns” the United States and Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling again for a halt to military actions.
The assassination was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”.
Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday “unreservedly” condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“I unreservedly condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This act places the Middle East on the edge of grave and sustained instability. I extend my condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Iranian people at this profoundly difficult momen,” wrote
Indonesia’s Ulema Muslim Clerical Council
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “illegal act of aggression”.
The attacks “constitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature”, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.
Iranian president
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had launched ballistic missile strikes targeting a US aircraft carrier, identifying the vessel as the USS Abraham Lincoln, as part of what it called “Operation True Promise 4.”
In a statement, the IRGC’s public relations office said four ballistic missiles were fired at the carrier, adding that Iran’s military campaign had entered a “new phase.” The group warned that both land and sea would become the “burial place” for what it described as aggressors.
Multiple Waves of Strikes Announced
Earlier, the IRGC said it had launched the seventh and eighth waves of strikes under the same operation, in response to what it termed ongoing aggression by the United States and Israel.
Iran claimed it had carried out precision strikes on military targets in Israeli territory, including areas near Tel Aviv and Haifa. It also alleged that Israeli officials had taken shelter due to heightened security concerns.
Targets Across the Gulf
The IRGC further stated that it had targeted US-operated facilities in West Asia, including the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, as well as installations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
There has been no immediate confirmation from US or Israeli officials regarding the reported missile strikes or the extent of any damage.
Rising Regional Tensions
The developments mark a sharp escalation in regional tensions following reported military exchanges between Iran, Israel and US forces over the weekend.
Independent verification of the claims remains pending, and international observers have urged restraint amid fears of a broader conflict across the Middle East.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
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