North Korean media outlet Uriminzokkiri — one of the few local outlets to write in English for a foreign audience — has opened a Twitter account: @uriminzok.

Although it is hard to determine who exactly updates the site, it is believed to be directly run by the North Korean government. Thus, the Uriminzok Twitter account could be the first official presence of North Korea on Twitter.

The first message on the Twitter account was posted last week, declaring in Korean that the website “Our nation” now has a Twitter account. Subsequent messages were links to either important documents from North Korean history or news items from the Uriminzokkiri website.

North Korea is run by one of the world’s most secretive regimes, but lately it’s been embracing social media; last month, Uriminzokkiri launched a YouTube account, which currently contains 78 videos. However, the North Korean government is hardly opening up with its new online presence, as the content posted on these accounts is pure propaganda and interaction with other users is currently nonexistent.

(source)