North Korea puts the welcome mat out for AP bureau

AP President Tom Curley, left, opens the new Pyongyang bureau (AP)

The Associated Press opened its newest bureau in Pyongyang yesterday, becoming the first international news organisation with a full-time presence in North Korea.

In a ceremony that came less than a month after the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong-il, the AP President, Tom Curley, and a delegation of top AP editors inaugurated the office, situated inside the offices of the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

In 2006, AP opened a video bureau in Pyongyang. Now, its writers and photojournalists will be allowed to work in North Korea on a regular basis.

For North Korea, which for decades has remained largely off-limits to international journalists, the opening marked an important gesture, particularly as Pyongyang and the US have never had formal diplomatic relations. The bureau puts AP in a position to document the country across all media platforms at a critical moment in its history, said Mr Curley.

AP