Seoul, Dec 26 South Korea's unification ministry said Friday it is in talks with related government agencies to review measures to allow public access to the Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper of North Korea's ruling Worker's Party, and other North Korean materials.
In South Korea, public access to North Korean media and publications, including the Rodong Sinmun, is denied as they are classified as "special materials" due to concerns that they include content praising and promoting North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took issue with a ban on public access to the North's materials during last week's policy briefing by the unification ministry. Lee said the current ban amounts to "treating the public as those who can fall for propaganda and agitation" by the North.
Later in the day, the unification ministry, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and other government agencies are believed to hold a meeting to review ways to reclassify the Rodong Sinmun as "general materials," not as special ones under the spy agency's guidelines.
"We are considering measures to allow public access to North Korean materials in a more open manner," Chang Yoon-jeong, deputy spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing Friday.
The NIS earlier said it is "positively" reviewing steps to permit the people to access North Korean materials to ensure the public's right to know and facilitate inter-Korean exchanges.
Currently, the Rodong Sinmun can be read at designated facilities, such as the ministry's information center on North Korea, only after an applicant's identity and purpose for accessing the content are verified.
But if the Rodong Sinmun is reclassified as general information, South Koreans can easily access the paper version of the newspaper. Still, online access to the newspaper's website will continue to be banned.
In a report to the National Assembly, the NIS said it will also "proactively" review whether to lift a ban on online access to North Korea-related websites.
The government has restricted online access to around 60 North Korean websites in accordance with the Information and Communications Network Act.
The act stipulates the government can restrict the public's online access to information related to activities banned under the national security law.
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