Observer: North Korea and the BBC's evidence (Did the BBC "sex up" another story?)

Financial Times ^ | February 16, 2004

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Observer: North Korea and the BBC's evidence

Feb 16 2004 04:00

Has the BBC got it wrong again, in another part of the axis of evil? Weeks after its two top bosses resigned over a discredited report on Iraq, the British broadcaster is facing scrutiny over a documentary about North Korea.

The programme grabbed headlines around the world this month with its claim that the communist state was testing chemical weapons on prisoners in secret gas chambers. However, debate rages in Seoul about the authenticity of the BBC's evidence.

Central to the case is an official-looking North Korean document referring to the chemical tests. However, some experts believe the document is bogus, saying the official stamp is too small and the type of paper is wrong. They suspect it was forged by defectors.

That South Korea's government is among the sceptics is hardly surprising: Seoul is often accused of ignoring its neighbour's bad behaviour to keep cross-border relations smooth. More noteworthy are the doubts of some human rights campaigners and journalists usually critical of Kim Jong-il's regime. One well-known current affairs magazine saw the document before the BBC broadcast but missed the scoop because it wanted more verification.

Olenka Frenkiel, the journalist responsible for the documentary, says the evidence was checked as rigorously as possible. Defending her story on CNN, she said: "If you put yourself in the 1940s and testimony was coming out of what was happening in occupied Europe and you said, well, we can't really prove it . . Now, that doesn't look like a very strong position."

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[OldFriend]

The question is.....does the BBC ever tell the truth.

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The question is.....does the BBC ever tell the truth.

Excellent point!

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