N. Korea rated worst in press freedom



North Korea was rated the worst country in terms of press freedom, according to a report by Freedom House, a U.S.-based non-governmental human rights body, on Monday.

Among the 196 countries studied last year, North Korea’s ranking was the lowest. South Korea’s was 70th, a slight fall from last year’s 67th, according to the report.

The organization also lowered its evaluation on South Korea from last year’s “free” to “partly free,” due to the increased media censorship of the current administration.

“Over the past several years, an increasing number of online comments have been removed for expressing either pro-North Korean or anti-South Korean views,” the report said.



By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)