NORTH KOREA: RADIO BROADCAST JAMMING CONTINUES TO INCREASE
Voice of the Martyrs Korea is reporting a 12 percent increase in government jamming of its shortwave radio broadcasts to North Korea over the past eighteen months. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, the measurement comes from the organization’s daily self-monitoring and shows that 58 percent of the ministry’s broadcasts experienced some jamming in the first six months of 2026, compared to 49 percent during the same period in 2025.
“We’re seeing the effect of North Korea having fewer broadcasts to jam,” says Representative Foley. She says the sharp decrease in broadcasting to North Korea by the US and South Korean governments which began in mid-2025 is continuing to impact groups like hers who continue to broadcast.
“The broadcasts by the US government-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the South Korean government were historically the major targets for jamming by North Korea,” says Representative Foley. “The South Korean government broadcasts remain silent. The US government’s Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts have resumed, and RFA is now broadcasting one daily 30-minute shortwave broadcast, but this is still only about 5% of what RFA used to broadcast. As a result, we are seeing greater jamming against the remaining broadcasts to North Korea.”
Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s self-monitoring of their broadcasts has led them to conclude that North Korea’s jamming efforts have increased in sophistication, which she says could be a result of new jamming technology acquired by North Korea from Russia or China.
But Representative Foley says that news is not all bad.
“It’s important to note that even though there has been an increase in the percentage of our broadcasts experiencing some jamming, that does not mean that less of our content is being heard inside of North Korea,” she says. “A majority of that jamming is only partial jamming, which can last for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.” She says that just as North Korea has improved its jamming techniques, Voice of the Martyrs Korea has improved its broadcasting strategies. “By adding a fifth daily 30–minute broadcast and by deploying new ‘rapid response’ strategies to address jamming as soon as its detected, we believe more of our content is being heard in North Korea than ever.”
She says her organization studies broadcast jamming strategies used by other countries in order to stay one step ahead of North Korea. “We anticipate that Pyongyang will keep developing its jamming techniques using strategies it learns from other countries,” says Representative Foley. “So rather than waiting for that to happen and then reacting, we prepare now for what we are likely to face tomorrow.”
Representative Foley says that listening to Christian radio broadcasts remains the most common religious activity among North Korean Christians.
A radio on the China side of the Yalu River is tuned to a Voice of the Martyrs Korea radio broadcast while North Korea is in sight on the opposite side.
“Based on our own religious experiences, we often assume that the most common religious activities of North Korean Christians would be things like gathering together for underground worship services or reading the Bible privately or praying,” said Representative Foley. “But these kinds of activities are easily detectable by onlookers, because they are distinctly Christian activities. Even prayer is typically done in a certain posture, where the person sits a certain way, holds their hands a certain way, moves a certain way, and concentrates and whispers. Listening to foreign radio broadcasts is also illegal, but it’s a far more common activity which is less obviously ‘Christian’ to onlookers, including other family members who may not be Christian.”
According to Representative Foley, between 14 and 20 percent of North Koreans listen to foreign broadcasts through headphone radios purchased on the gray and black markets. She explains that because listening to such broadcasts can be done overnight in the dark in silence, it remains the primary way that North Koreans are able to access Christian content.
“Each time we meet North Koreans who are new to South Korea, about 30 percent of them have had some previous exposure to Christianity,” says Representative Foley. She says she believes the cessation of the government broadcasts to North Korea shows the difference in motivation of government and Christian broadcasters.
“For governments, sending information into countries changes as their strategic interests change,” says Representative Foley. “Information is sometimes seen as a political tool for regime change or for applying pressure on human rights issues. For Christian broadcasters, the motivation is what the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2: ‘Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season’. Voice of the Martyrs Korea never broadcasts news, information, or politics. We simply preach the word. The cancellation of the government broadcasts means that more North Koreans than ever are likely to be exposed to the gospel, as fewer other options are now available for listening. That is why we added a fifth daily broadcast as soon as the government broadcasts went silent.”
Individuals interested in hearing the Voice of the Martyrs Korea daily radio broadcasts into North Korea can listen online, at http://www.podbbang.com/ch/1768188. More information about Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s North Korea radio broadcasts is available at www.vomkorea.com/en/radio.