NEWS FLASH

Associated Press Opens Bureau In North Korea | In 2006, the Associated Press (AP) cut a deal with North Korea to allow a video bureau to operate in the capitol, Pyongyang. Now, less than a month after the death of leader Kim Jong Il, AP is expanding its presence in the impoverished but nuclear-armed country to include photojournalism and writing. The right-wing dictatorship there holds the monopoly on media, likely enabling some of its sway over the population, which is often described as operating like a personality cult. Recently, some news began to emerge from amateur reporters working with a Japanese outlet, but the AP’s will be the first permanent international presence in the country. “The world knows very little about [North Korea], and this gives us a unique opportunity to bring the world news that it doesn’t now have,” said AP CEO and President Thomas Curley, who was in Pyongyang to open the office. Here’s a photo of Curley speaking to North Korean press in Pyongyang: