Rodong Sinmun [CIA]

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any and all documents mentioning the North Korean news outlet, Rodong Sinmun (including their web publication, located at http://http://www.rodong.rep.kp)

Please include any and all intelligence reports, press clippings, emails, memos, public statements, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, briefings and internal directives.

In the event that the contents of the requested documents are classified under Executive Order 13526, I also make the following additional requests:

Pursuant to section 1.2 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the level of classification of this information and its existence/nonexistence.

Pursuant to section 1.3 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific authority which classified this information.

Pursuant to section 1.4 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific classification categories of this information, as well as an identification or description of the damage to national security which the disclosure of this information would produce.

Pursuant to section 1.5 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific duration of time for which this classification will stand.

Pursuant to section 1.6 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting all classification markings about this information, including (1) one of the three classification levels defined in section 1.2 of Executive Order 13526, (2) the identity, by name and position, or by personal identifier, of the original classification authority, (3) the agency and office of origin, if not otherwise evident, (4) declassification instructions, and (5) a concise reason for classification that, at a minimum, cites the applicable classification categories in section 1.4 of Executive Order 13526.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Rich Jones

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 11, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 11, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act.

On May 11, 2014, I requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The request was for:

Any and all documents mentioning the North Korean news outlet, Rodong Sinmun (including their web publication, located at http://http://www.rodong.rep.kp)

Please include any and all intelligence reports, press clippings, emails, memos, public statements, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, briefings and internal directives.

In the event that the contents of the requested documents are classified under Executive Order 13526, I also make the following additional requests:

Pursuant to section 1.2 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the level of classification of this information and its existence/nonexistence.

Pursuant to section 1.3 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific authority which classified this information.

Pursuant to section 1.4 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific classification categories of this information, as well as an identification or description of the damage to national security which the disclosure of this information would produce.

Pursuant to section 1.5 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting the specific duration of time for which this classification will stand.

Pursuant to section 1.6 of Executive Order 13526, I am requesting all classification markings about this information, including (1) one of the three classification levels defined in section 1.2 of Executive Order 13526, (2) the identity, by name and position, or by personal identifier, of the original classification authority, (3) the agency and office of origin, if not otherwise evident, (4) declassification instructions, and (5) a concise reason for classification that, at a minimum, cites the applicable classification categories in section 1.4 of Executive Order 13526.

My request was assigned the following identification number: F-2014-01557. On June 30, 2014, I received a response to my request in a letter signed by Michele Meeks. I appeal the denial of my request.

The agency claims that it cannot confirm nor or deny this existence of the requested documents, however, there are many such documents already available in the public domain. A simple internet web search reveals numerous references to Rodong Sinmun on the CIA web domain, for instance in Studies in Intelligence Vol. 54, No. 4 (Extracts, December 2010).

Furthermore, the notion that the agency would not have any information about the most prominent state media outlet of North Korea, a nation which the CIA itself has described as "a totalitarian state" and a "major concern to the international community," is absurd. For the agency not to have any documents relating to Rodong Sinmun would be a complete failure of the agency's duties to protect the American people and the American state. This is compounded by the fact that Rodong Sinmun, acting as a mouthpiece for the North Korean state government, has made repeated threats against the United States and even against the agency itself, calling it "state-sponsored organized crime" and "the worst human rights abuser." For the agency to claim the possibility that it does not have documents on this organization is to also claim the possibility that it is completely and dangerously failing in its stated mission by ignoring threats to the safety of the American people.

Please respond with the requested documents in a timely fashion.

Thank you for your consideration of this appeal.

Sincerely,
Rich Jones

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 11, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2014-01557.

Thank you for your help.