ROK stops DPRK media staff from accessing websites

Reporters from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the Asian Games will have to send their articles by fax machine because their Internet access has been restricted by their host, the Republic of Korea, an official said on Tuesday.

Seoul's Ministry of Unification said the DPRK media would not be given temporary access to their own country's websites, which are blocked in the ROK.

This means that fax machines will be dusted off and will whir into action as the Games get underway this week.

A ministry spokeswoman said there is no direct communication line between the ROK and the DPRK. Websites from the DPRK are banned in the ROK.

"The DPRK delegates tried to access their own state websites, but of course it did not work," she said.

Members of the DPRK's media, easily recognizable at the Asian Games by their team suits, are among a large delegation that has crossed the border to participate and observe.

On Tuesday, the DPRK's Rodong Sinmun newspaper featured four pages of coverage about the country's 3-0 soccer victory over China, but it didn't mention where the Asian Games are being held.

Separately, an organizing committee official told Korea Times that the DPRK citizens had asked for Wi-Fi in their accommodation.

DPRK flag ban

ROK citizens are banned from carrying DPRK flags into any Asian Games venue, and anyone waving one at an event could face arrest, organizers said.

Under the ROK's National Security Law, citizens are banned from activities deemed to be praising or sympathizing with the DPRK.

"We've been ordered to check at security checkpoints if anyone is carrying DPRK flags into a venue, and to confiscate them immediately," an organizing committee spokesman said.

The DPRK's presence has been one of the main talking points in the buildup to the Asian Games, which officially open in Incheon on Friday.

The DPRK flag is displayed along with other national flags at the official venues, and members of the DPRK delegation can bring their flags to events. But any ROK citizen who smuggles a flag into a venue and waves it with a "strong, clear intention" will be handed over to law enforcement, the spokesman said.

Non-ROK citizens would also be "strongly urged" not to carry DPRK flags to the events.

Olympic Council of Asia rules dictate that national flags should be "freely flown" in all stadiums and nearby areas.

(China Daily 09/17/2014 page11)