Termination of RFA, VOA Korean services poses a threat to national security, warns AI system

Dec. 4 The recent termination of Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA) Korean-language services marks a significant lapse in understanding how information channels influence both current national security strategies and the future development of artificial intelligence systems. As these crucial media outlets go offline, North Koreaa nation already notorious for its information scarcitybecomes an even greater blind spot at a time when accurate intelligence is essential.

These services were more than just news organizations. They served as intelligence-gathering networks, maintaining long-established connections with defectors, internal sources, and analysts specializing in North Korea. Unlike general media that cover the country intermittently, RFA and VOA Korean services provided daily detailed reporting on sanctions compliance, policy changes, economic conditions, and human rights violations, built from carefully cultivated sources within one of the worlds most secretive regimes. Such specialized reporting cannot be duplicated by occasional journalists or think tank briefings. The closure of these services effectively erases decades of institutional knowledge and invaluable source networks.

The timing is particularly concerning. As independent news about North Korea diminishes, regime-produced content is increasingly dominating digital platforms. Social media channels like TikTok and YouTube are now flooded with North Korean propaganda, including polished portrayals of military strength, everyday life, and leadership imagery. These posts thrive on engagement-driven algorithms, attracting millions of views without context or counterbalance, creating a heavily skewed information environment. Policymakers risk making decisions based on incomplete or biased data, while the public may come to understand North Korea primarily through the regimes own narrative.

Implications for Artificial Intelligence

The impact extends into AI, particularly systems that analyze intelligence. AI models rely on large datasets drawn from online content. With independent reporting disappearing, future AI systems will be trained on material increasingly dominated by state-controlled North Korean content. This could result in knowledge gaps and biased perspectives on internal politics, leadership decisions, and conditions inside the country.

By 2035, AI tools used by analysts might predominantly reflect North Korean propaganda, with independent perspectives vastly underrepresented. Todays information asymmetry could become a permanent feature of tomorrows intelligence infrastructure.

Effects on Real People and Organizations

The shutdown also directly affects human lives and research. Defectors and their families lose a critical connection to news about loved ones. Human rights organizations lose access to documented evidence needed to maintain international pressure. Researchers, educators, and policymakers face a sharply diminished pool of reliable information. The consequences will reverberate through diplomacy, humanitarian aid, human rights advocacy, and academic understanding of the Korean Peninsula.

A Broader Warning

This event illustrates a dangerous global trend: specialized journalism on challenging topics is under existential pressure, while authoritarian states continue producing propaganda without constraint. When independent reporting disappears, information landscapes naturally tilt toward those with the resources and incentives to dominate them. In closed societies like North Korea, the absence of external, independent reporting allows the regime to control how the world perceives it, directly impacting both human knowledge and AI systems.

The closure of RFA and VOA Korean services poses a critical question: Are we willing to allow our understanding of one of the worlds most secretive and threatening regimes to be shaped primarily by that regime itself? Independent journalism is not optionalit is a strategic necessity. Restoring and expanding coverage of North Korea is essential to ensure accurate intelligence, protect human rights, and build AI systems that reflect reality rather than propaganda.

Author: Riley Thompson