The Voice of America plans to further expand its Korean service. From the start of the winter broadcast season at the end of October, the service was expanded from 3 hours to 3.5 hours a day. By October 2007, the service is expected to be on the air for five hours a day. The expansion plan also includes doubling its Korean service staff from the current 20 in Washington and opening a new office in Seoul.
The VOA began working out an expanded Korean service after Congress passed the North Korean Human Rights Act in October 2004 with a provision calling for boosting Korean-language radio broadcasts. According to VOA, a US private research agency estimates that 36 percent of North Koreans listen to its programmes at least once a week.
Dong Lee, Chief of the VOA’s East Asia and Pacific Division Korean Service, has been speaking to the Japan Times.
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)