Like Father Like Son? Correlates of Leadership in North Korea’s English Language News

North Korea’s official news routinely showers praise on “Great Leader” (Kim Il-sung) and “Dear Leader” (Kim Jong-il). Instead of simply dismissing North Korea’s official news as static propaganda, this paper attempts to uncover patterns within this news and whether common themes (such as the military and economy) are more closely associated with Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il. Through the use of automated content analysis - computer software that can code text - this paper analyzes daily English language news from North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) from 1997 through 2011. Statistical analysis finds several themes that correlate with references to the individual leaders. These findings suggest that the KCNA reports, rather than simply propaganda, reveal a more complex underlying rationale.