South Korea plans to expand its support for civic groups’ radio broadcasts targeting North Korean residents in a bid to help North Koreans access external information, the unification ministry said Thursday.

The government plans to increase its support for the production of content and the training of personnel for radio broadcasts in the private sector as part of a new unification blueprint.

The initiative is one of seven key measures outlined by President Yoon Suk Yeol during his Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15 to promote a greater inflow of outside information and culture to North Korean residents.

As a result, government subsidies for private organizations that conduct radio broadcasts targeting North Korean residents are expected to increase significantly next year.

However, the ministry did not specify the amount of funding.

In recent years, North Korea has been stepping up surveillance and punishment of its people by implementing three so-called evil laws to prevent North Koreans from accessing
outside information.

One of the laws calls for punishing those who bring in outside culture and information with 10 years of hard labor. Punishment is tougher in the case of those watching and distributing South Korean films and music, with some cases of execution.

Source: Yonhap News Agency