Big N. Korean News Released Saturdays

On Saturday’s report about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s visit to a military unit, a Seoul intelligence official said yesterday that the communist regime has long made important announcements on Saturday, saying, “I’m used to hearing a big announcement each Saturday.”

Pyongyang has indeed issued major announcements Saturdays, such as the killing of a South Korean tourist in the North’s Mount Geumgang resort in July

On July 12, a spokesman of the North’s Guidance Bureau for Comprehensive Development of Scenic Spots blamed South Korea for the death of the tourist.

On August 2 and 9, the North Korean military unit stationed at the mountain also announced the expulsion of South Korean personnel at the resort.

On October 4, North Korean media said Kim, who is rumored to have suffered a stroke, watched a soccer game.

“There is the possibility that the North Korean leadership receives and authorizes public relations and propaganda reports all at once Fridays,” a North Korea expert in Seoul said.

Other experts, however, said the pattern is related to South Korean media, whose television broadcasts cover Saturday’s major news through Sunday and morning newspapers do so Mondays.

kyle@donga.com