A Wrong Turn Gives Chilling Insight Behind The Propaganda Of Pristine North Korea
April 14 2012, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
By Debbie Emery - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter
A bus load of reporters on an official trip to North Korea got a very different glimpse of the Communist country than their hosts wanted them to see when they took a wrong turn on Thursday, and Breaking Celebrity News has fascinating photos behind the Pyongyang propaganda machine.
Instead of the quiet streets and pristine, people-less neighborhoods that the government wants to portray to the world, the Western reporters were treated to the sight of clouds of dust swirling down deeply potholed streets, gray and dreary concrete apartment buildings crumbling at the edges and elderly people weighed down by handmade backpacks, reported the Associated Press.
It was a rare insight into the secretive, autocratic nation as it prepared for its now failed satellite launch, which Washington claims was really a test of missile technology.
The 50 news gatherers were supposed to be witnessing meticulously staged presentations showcasing the success of three generations of leadership under the Kim family, and their inquisitive minds were fascinated to see the hidden side of the city as the three drivers desperately tried to back the buses out and get back on course.
According to the AP, if the group diverted from the press tour or walked from the few hotels where foreigners are allowed, they would be at risk of being detained by the police and threatened with expulsion.
"They've left very few stones unturned in North Korea," said Anthony Brunello, a professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, who has studied totalitarian propaganda methods. “They've managed to create a process of control that works.”