Saskatoon StarPhoenix

North Korea and the art of propaganda

- Jack Hauen reports.

‘TALKING IS NOT THE ANSWER’ U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN A TWEET ‘(WE) SHOULD SHOW ACTION, NOT TALK, TO THE U.S.’ NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG-UN

NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED A PROPAGANDA WAR WEDNESDAY, WITH IMAGES OF A STRATEGIC BALLISTIC ROCKET LIFTING OFF ALONG WITH PHOTOS OF A SMILING KIM JONG UN. BOTH NORTH KOREA AND THE U.S. TALKED TOUGH BY NOT TALKING.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the ones released by the North Korean government are worth their weight in gold. Staging the perfect shot to distribute worldwide is “a matter of life and death” for the North Korean government, says Sung-Yoon Lee, professor of Korean Studies and U.S.-East Asia relations at Tufts University, and involves a delicate balance of cheap props, important faces and wildly exaggerate­d joy.

 ?? AFP PHOTO / KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY ??
AFP PHOTO / KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY
 ?? AFP PHOTO / VIA THE OFFICIAL KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY ?? Kim Jong Un watches the launch of an intermedia­te-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 near Pyongyang on Tuesday.
AFP PHOTO / VIA THE OFFICIAL KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY Kim Jong Un watches the launch of an intermedia­te-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 near Pyongyang on Tuesday.

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