VillageOfJoy claims that:
14 Interesting Facts about North Korea
- You can’t turn off the government radio installed in your home, only reduce the volume. [...]
There are many of web-sites with similar claims: 1, 2.
This photo by photographer Eric Lafforgue purports to be an example of such a radio.
Is this true now? Did it used to be true? What sort of messages are/were sent over these radios?
I am not sure if it is technically a radio or rather a speaker. Most areas are not connected to the electricity grid. And I could not find telegraph poles on aereal pictueres yet, so it is interesting how this things work. Perhaps a fixed frequency radio on batteries is included.
Edit: I found this BBC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuqustZzKM at 1:43 min one can hear the speaker. It seems to be installed in flats in the cities.