▲ Staff of the four private broadcasters at yesterday’s event at the Press Center in Seoul (© DailyNK)

Open Radio for North Korea, North Korea Reform Radio, Free North Korea Radio and Radio Free Chosun have today joined together to form a new association of broadcasters whose purpose is to prompt change in North Korea.

The four private radio broadcasters launched the Association of Broadcasters for North Korea (ABNK) at Seoul Press Center, announcing their intention to lead the way in pushing the North Korean authorities towards reform and opening by providing greater freedom of information for the ordinary North Korean people.

According to the association’s founding declaration, “As Kim Jong Il was dying and the 3rd generation succession was being launched, the North Korean people’s interest in outside information and desire for change was exploding. We have formed ABNK to embrace the thirst for truth and desire for change which is spreading in the North.”

Lee Kwang Baek, the head of Radio Free Chosun and the president of the new association, explained, “The biggest event in the next ten years of our society will be none other than change in North Korea. It has already started. We must also work together to prepare.”