The North Korean ruling party organ, the Rodong Shinumn is billed as the "chief of staff" of the media in the North and has a large number of reporters. Publishing the daily are no less than 600 reporters and editors plus more than 200 people involved in printing. Since it publishes only six pages a day and eight pages at the most, it's not easy to get one's story printed in the daily. If a by-line story is published in the newspaper, the writer is proud of it, telling friends, "My story has been printed."

Commentaries carry greater weight than news stories in the Rodong Shinmun. The editorial writers office is comprised of an editor-in-chief, three or four deputy editors-in-chief and a number of editorial writers. Those who write editorials and commentaries on current affairs constitute the topmost writers in the country, commanding excellence in writing.

Reporters don't compete for scoops among themselves; they are given instructions from the central party committee's Propaganda and Agitation Department on what to cover, where and in how many pages. Written stories have to be approved by the party before being published in the party organ.

The Editorial Bureau is comprised, among others, of desks on party affairs, revolutionary indoctrination, industry, agriculture, science-literature, South Korea, world affairs, photography and letters-to-the-editor. Prompted by a perception that "capitalist papers publish curiosity-seeking stories to attract public interest," the paper carries only praiseworthy episodes involving the public. Needless to say, political stories are devoid of criticism.

Because they handle developments in foreign countries, the world affairs and South Korea desks often assume denunciatory tones. The "South Korea page" appearing on page 5 and "World Affairs page" on page 6, however, offer the public a rare window to see what's going on outside the country. Suppose an article mentions the scale of South Korea's annual defense budget and its proportion to its gross domestic product, the readers can estimate the size of the South Korean economy. Reporters of these desks write stories based on materials provided by the central party committee's Propaganda Department on Unification or Social Affairs and Culture Department.

Reporters covering agriculture and light industries are able to enjoy some perks like daily necessities from time to time, a sort of luck for "poor" journalists who have no income sources other than their moderate salaries. During the vegetable harvest season, the paper wields the privilege of having a field of the best crops allocated to the daily through a reporter covering the harvest.

Economic desks, nevertheless, write "North Korean-style" articles of criticism sometimes. If a report says, "The production of so and so business establishment saw a drop this year from last year," or "The performance of so and so firm is poorer than that of others," officials in charge of such firms often get in trouble. For the Rodong Shinmun constitutes a direct route of communication to the "top leadership." Hence a relationship of tension often develops between reporters and company heads.

Reporters are most reluctant to be assigned as provincial correspondents because of the economic woes in the provinces. On the contrary, overseas correspondence posts are most coveted. "Number 1 reporters" covering Kim Jong Il's guidance tours and reporters assigned to the party headquarters or the Premier's Office (Mount Kumsusan Memorial Palace) wield some influence, but journalists prefer overseas assignments to those posts. Overseas correspondents are subject to less stress than diplomats and may grasp moneymaking chances. The North has correspondents in Russia, China and African and Middle Eastern countries with which it has diplomatic relations. Some employees in provincial administrative agencies, or production sites also file stories to the Rodong Shinmun in their capacity as "correspondents on workplaces."

No state examinations are given to prospective reporters as more important in their screening are family backgrounds and schooling. The Journalism Department of Kim Il Sung University produces many reporters; while some graduates from Kim Hyong-jik Teachers College have become reporters in recent years. For promotions they have to pass examinations every three to four years. They start in grade 6 and advance to grade 1, each higher grade according bigger wages and more daily necessities. The apprentice period lasts three to four years, upon the completion of which some cub reporters have to wait for some time to become full-fledged reporters.

North Korean reporters admit their being party "trumpeters." They have to quote Kim Il Sung's "instructions" or Kim Jong Il's "remarks" in their articles without fail, and censorship is taken for granted. Though the Rodong Shinumn itself can be regarded as an organ of power, there is a trend among the public to consider its reporters as poor, effeminate professionals. Sustaining them is a sense of honor they cherish in dealing with writings.

(Kim Mi-young, miyoung@chosun.com )