SEOUL: YouTube has cut off access to a state-run North Korean propaganda channel, as the US seeks to impose tougher sanctions following Pyongyang鈥檚 recent nuclear and missile tests.
The shutdown of Uriminzokkiri, which regularly posted video footage boasting of the North鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs and others praising the North鈥檚 leader Kim Jong-Un, was confirmed Saturday.
鈥淭his account has been terminated for violating YouTube鈥檚 community guidelines,鈥� said the video sharing website.
YouTube gives no details on reasons why particular accounts are closed down, or for how long. But advertising revenue generated by the accounts could violate US trade sanctions.
Academics use official footage from the channels of missile launches and visits to factories by Kim to gain rare insights into the progress of the country鈥檚 weapons programs.
鈥淭racking and digitally reconstructing events is going to be more difficult as these accounts get deleted,鈥� Scott Lafoy, a Washington-based satellite imagery analyst, told NK News.
The channel serves various propaganda purposes for North Korea.
Last month, Uriminzokkiri published a video featuring the two sons of James Joseph Dresnok, in which they said their father 鈥� the only US soldier known still to be living in North Korea after defecting more than five decades ago 鈥� had died last year pledging loyalty to the 鈥済reat leader Kim Jong-Un.鈥�
In July, it hosted a video featuring Lim Ji-Hyun, a female defector in her 20s who arrived in Seoul in 2014 and soon became a public figure, before apparently returning to the North from the 鈥渉ell鈥� of the capitalist South.
Uriminzokkiri鈥檚 social media accounts remained active Saturday.
North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile 鈥� prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.
In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.
The US has formally requested a UN Security Council vote on Monday on tough new sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia.
It is not the first time that YouTube has targeted North Korean propaganda.
In November 2016, the video sharing platform closed down state-owned Korean Central TV1. Several other channels including Chosun TV, NK Propaganda and KCTV Stream were also cut off, according to NK News.