January 2, 2026
South Koreans are now free to read the North’s newspaper, once banned as seditious
A visitor reads Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s top newspaper, at the National Library of Korea in Seoul on January 2, 2026. — AFP Filled with missile tests, propaganda hailing major leaders and rants against the United States, North Korea’s top newspaper has long been considered so inflammatory that South Korea has banned its citizens from reading it. But dovish President Lee Jae Myung is now seeking better ties with Pyongyang and joked that he doesn’t think the public will “become a communist” by reading the Rodong Sinmun. This means that starting this week, South Koreans can access the publication –









