London 16th of April 2013
The UK Korean Friendship Association totally and utterly condemns the BBC TV Panorama programme "Undercover in North Korea " . This has been broadcast at a time when the US imperialist's plans to attack and invade the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have been more and more pronounced. It was clearly aimed at smearing and demonising the DPRK in order to prepare the public for the idea of a military attack on the DPRK. Thus the BBC served the goals of US imperialism . Other countries that were subject to these kind of psychological warfare and propaganda by the Western media such as Yugoslavia and Iraq were subsequently attacked and invaded. The timing of the broadcast of the programme was an extreme insult to the DPRK as it was broadcast on April 15th the 101st anniversary of the birth of the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung , the eternal leader of the Korean people, which was being celebrated by the people of the DPRK as well as friends of the DPRK and Juche idea followers throughout the world.
The maker of the programme readily admitted to deception in entering the DPRK . In most countries to enter by deception is a criminal offence . Basically if Sweeney lied to the DPRK to get in , then he can lie to the viewers as well. Never trust anyone who admits that they lied or deceived anyone !
In fact there was no need for Sweeney to falsify his details . It is not true that the DPRK "bans journalists". In April 2012 over 1,000 journalists from different tv, press agencies and newspapers were in the DPRK , this included a BBC TV crew. Why did John Sweeney choose to "go undercover " ? It was obviously to commit hostile acts against the DPRK but we will probably never know the full story behind this or what other agencies were really involved in this dubious escapade.
If the DPRK is really as "tightly controlled " and "repressive " as Sweeney would have us believe why wasn't he rumbled and put in prison ?
The programme simply trotted out a number of long discredited propaganda cliches about the DPRK. UK KFA members who have visited the DPRK on a number of occasions say that there is no starvation in the DPRK. The programme was peppered with dubious footage and commentary.
Sweeney showed a high degree of political and ideological illiteracy by trying to claim that the DPRK is somehow connected to Nazi-ism or based on it, a surprising claim for a graduate of the London School of Economic and Political Science. Doesn't Sweeney realise that the DPRK has a socialist system, doesn't he realise that President Kim Il Sung and the anti-Japanese partisans spent 15 years fighting Japanese imperialism an ally of Nazi Germany. Mein Kampf is not on sale in the DPRK and no one praises Hitler there. In today's world the main form of fascism is US imperialism.
Sweeney's banality plumbed even lower depths when he described McDonalds and KFC in Seoul as being examples of democracy !( surely this is also "product placement" , did Sweeney get backhanders from them or something ?) McDonalds and KFC are well known as exploitative low-wage employers and are hated by anti-capitalists and anti-globalists throughout the world ! These kind of arguments show that Sweeney is even more right wing and pro-capitalist than previously thought. As to south Korea this is not a democracy but a fascist regime where communist and progressive organisations are illegal and people are jailed for supporting reunification.
Sweeney who comes from a privileged middle class background was known by his contemporaries as being a diehard extreme anti-communist even in his youth.
The Panorama programme was basically about smearing and discrediting the socialist system of the DPRK under which the masses are the masters of everything and also discrediting the Juche idea and the anti-imperialist stance of the DPRK.
UK KFA calls on all friends of the DPRK and all progressive to expose anti DPRK propaganda and the sinister forces that are behind it. UK KFA members should complain to the BBC about the Panorama programme.

Let us reject the lies of the British Brainwashing Corporation !

UK KFA .