SEOUL, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- South Korea officials say they are blocking citizens' access to North Korea's Twitter account to prevent exposure to online propaganda.
"When South Korean nationals want to contact North Koreans, they should do so according to our law," Lee Jong-ju, spokeswoman for the South's Unification Ministry, told The Christian Science Monitor. "We already blocked it."
The South also has made it illegal for its citizens to visit North Korea Web sites, the U.S. online newspaper said. Those who try to access North Korea sites will see the word "Warning" next to the initials for the Korea Communications Standards Commission and hear an announcement that the site is illegal.
"It shows they don't trust their own people," Michael Breen, who runs a consulting service in Seoul, told the Monitor.
"In a democracy, citizens should be allowed to make up their minds about dictatorship. There's always been this fear that people, if exposed to North Korea, will fall for it."
The controversy comes at a time when North Korea has apparently opened an account on Facebook, Yonhap news agency reported. Posts on http://facebook.com/uriminzokkiri have included statements from North Korea's Foreign Ministry and landscape photos.
U.S. officials say they disagree with South Korea's strict Internet access policies.
Experts believe only the elite in North Korea have access to electronic communications.
Yonhap noted the Koreas are technically at war and relations soured with the March sinking of a South Korean warship. South Korea, the United States and their allies say they believe North Korea torpedoed the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. The North has denied any role.
