North Korea’s flagship newspaper can now be read through a paid Rodong Sinmun app on smartphones in 2026. According to a source in South Hamgyong province, however, few North Koreans are willing to pay for it. Some people still pay to receive the printed edition, largely because they need the paper itself for everyday household uses.
“For several years now, people have been able to read Rodong Sinmun on their smartphones, but it costs money,” the source told Daily NK on Wednesday. “People hardly even watch the TV news, so not many will pay to read Rodong Sinmun.”
“Honestly, people busy trying to put food on the table don’t have much time for the paper,” the source added. “Some people say, ‘If it were free on a smartphone, maybe, but who would pay money for it?’”
Rodong Sinmun is the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the regime’s leading propaganda outlet. It relays party policy and Kim Jong Un’s directives to the North Korean public.
Paper copies of Rodong Sinmun were once delivered to every household through neighborhood watch units. Circulation shrank as paper shortages took hold after the Arduous March, the devastating famine of the 1990s. By the 2000s, the newspaper went mainly to instructor-level cadres at state agencies and enterprises, meaning ordinary North Koreans were no longer able to receive it at all.
Rodong Sinmun app offers two paid subscription tiers
In recent years, the newspaper has become available on smartphones through an app called “Rodong Sinmun Reading Service.” The app divides paid access into two tiers with different levels of content. First-tier access lets users read the newspaper and search articles on its website, while second-tier access adds foreign-language materials on the economy, science and technology.
The main obstacle for would-be readers is the subscription cost. First-tier access costs 500 North Korean won a month, paid in six-month or 12-month blocks, which works out to 3,000 won for six months or 6,000 won for a full year. Second-tier access costs four times as much, at 12,000 won for six months and 24,000 won for a year.
“Because there’s a price attached, almost nobody pays to read Rodong Sinmun on their smartphone,” the source said. “If anything, some people will pay to get the paper edition, because they need the paper itself.”
For these paying print subscribers, the practical value of newsprint matters far more than the news itself, the source explained.
Pages carrying images of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un must be set aside and returned, however. Damaging or misusing images of the Kim family is treated as a serious political offense in North Korea.
“People who aren’t on the official readership list still pay to receive the paper, mostly to use it around the house,” the source said. “Even leaving out the portrait pages, there’s a lot you can use in daily life. You can roll cigarettes with it or use it as basic wallpaper or toilet paper.”
About This Translation
This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
Reporting from Inside North Korea
Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.
Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea — discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.
Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what’s happening inside one of the world’s most closed societies.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dailynk.com
