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Voice of America resumes broadcasts in North Korea

Published: 25 Sep. 2025, 15:13

A view of the Voice of America (VOA) building, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave in Washington on March 16. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Voice of America (VOA) has resumed some of its broadcasts to North Korea after an approximately six-month suspension, according to reports.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post and NK News, a specialist outlet on North Korea, reported that Kari Lake, acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), testified before a federal district court in Washington that “some broadcasts to North Korea restarted on Aug. 28.”

USAGM oversees VOA and Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Lake confirmed only that the programming was being aired in Korean without specifying the reason. She did note, however, that U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media posts about Korea were part of the discussions.

NK News interpreted this as referring to Trump’s post on Aug. 25, just before the South Korea-U. S. summit, when he wrote, “What is going on in South Korea? Seems like a purge or a revolution,” before walking back the comment during the summit.

The resumption of VOA programming drew attention because the Lee Jae Myung administration had previously halted loudspeaker broadcasts and military radio transmissions aimed at the North. NK News wrote that it is unclear whether this was intended to offset that.

Within VOA, however, there were suggestions that actual content production for North Korea programming has not yet restarted.

Acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kari Lake testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on June 25. [EPA/YONHAP]

Lake announced last month that USAGM, which oversees VOA and other U.S.-funded broadcasters, had begun a reduction in force (RIF) affecting more than 500 employees. The move came just a day after a federal judge blocked the dismissal of VOA board member Michael Abramowitz.

“We are eliminating 532 full-time positions as part of a restructuring,” said Lake in a statement. “USAGM will continue to fulfill its statutory mission after this RIF — and will likely improve its ability to function.”

“I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America's voice is heard abroad where it matters most,” Lake added.

Court documents revealed that 486 VOA employees and 46 staff from other outlets received layoff notices. Of these, only 86 VOA employees remain on duty, with 512 placed on administrative leave. The VOA union strongly objected, calling the Trump administration’s layoff plan “illegal.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]