Un A, a North Korean presenter of "Echo DPRK," a YouTube channel believed to be managed by the North Korean regime, introduces goods at a department store in Pyongyang. / Korea Times file

By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea is fighting international sanctions imposed on the country due to its nuclear and missile tests.

This fight against punitive actions has reached YouTube, where its channels have been deleted over claims they violate the platform's terms of service, with the country continuously attempting to revive its propaganda channels.

"Red Star TV," a YouTube channel hosted by a North Korean living in Russia, has been in operation again after suffering its seventh shutdown in January by the Google subsidiary.

However, while reopening the channel, North Korea is emphasizing that "Red Star TV" is an informational project of the DPRK International Solidarity Group, which disseminates "true information" about the latest events in the world and on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK refers to the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Whenever its YouTube channels were deleted, North Korea has protested, claiming that the videos were aimed at correcting the international community's misconceptions about the country.

As soon as YouTube deleted "Echo of Truth," formerly "Echo DPRK," last December, Un A, its female North Korean presenter, said the channel neither provided false information nor criticized individuals.

The channel, which had nearly 50,000 subscribers, was reborn in the same month as "Echo of Truth Returns."

"All I know is it was blocked in violation of Google policy, although I don't remember myself blaming anyone or spreading false information in my videos," Un A said in a post of "Echo of Truth Returns."

The replacement channel has also been suspended by YouTube since January.

Currently, a North Korean YouTube channel that still stands out is "New DPRK," which features seven-year-old Ri Su-jin describing the daily lives of children in Pyongyang. The number of its subscribers is 18,000.

The North Korean regime has taken advantage of this new method of propaganda, as its leader Kim Jong-un pursues practical methods of promoting his country.