Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what change will be delivered in North Korea by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded Thomson Foundation project "Inside Out: Working in North Korea to connect its journalists to the internet world", in respect of the unavailability of the internet in that country and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry’s findings on freedom of expression and freedom of information in that country; and what assessment they have made of concerns that North Korean journalists benefiting from the project are members of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) maintains extremely tight control over media and restricts access to foreign broadcasting. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded project ‘Inside Out: Working in North Korea to connect its journalists to the internet world’ is an on-going media project which intends to increase interaction between the DPRK and international media organisations. The objective is to promote a more open culture of news reporting in line with internationally accepted journalistic norms and technical standards, by encouraging greater discussion and dialogue within DPRK broadcasting. Rather than benefitting the Workers’ Party of Korea, the project seeks to encourage greater interaction between the participants and the outside world.