North Korea 2012: More Reclusive, More Open

North Korea is 7.75% more reclusive than it was in the same period of last year, new statistics released today reveal.

The news of increasing reclusiveness was revealed at an event this morning to commemorate the release of the latest report from the South Korean state-run Hermitage Foundation, “North Korea 2012: Outlook for Introspection”.

The statistics were taken from analysis of headlines and reports carried by the five major international newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and Mainichi Shimbun) between January 1st and June 30th, 2012.

According to the analysis results, the phrase “North Korea” and “Hermit Kingdom” appeared in headline articles in the five publications on a combined total of 243 occasions in the first six months of 2012, a rise of 7.75% over the same period of 2011 (225 occasions), strongly indicating that Pyongyang is retreating further into its shell.

In addition, the words “Kim Jong Eun” and “educated in Switzerland so really knows capitalism” were published a total of 230 times, an increase of 53% over the 2011 total (108 times), indicating that North Korea is also much more willing to engage in economic reform and opening than it was a year ago.

Speaking about the findings, Brian Rain, who heads the Hermitage Foundation, commented, “Our new report conclusively proves that North Korea is going to become more reclusive going forward, which should allow it to really come to terms with the outside world and address its economic shortcomings.”

For more information about the report, click here, or, perhaps, here.