AFP opens new bureau in Pyongyang: AFP report

SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- The France-based news wire Agence France-Presse (AFP) announced Wednesday the opening of a new overseas bureau in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

With the opening of the Pyongyang bureau on Tuesday, AFP will primarily provide videos and photos to thousands of clients around the world, the news outlet said in a report dispatched from Pyongyang.

AFP is the fourth foreign media company that has established a presence in the isolated country, following the U.S.-based Associated Press, China's Xinhua News Agency and Japan's Kyodo News.

"The opening of this bureau fills a gap in the AFP network of some 200 bureaus in 150 countries," the report quoted its Chairman Emmanuel Hoog as having said during the opening ceremony.

During a meeting with Kim Chang-gwang, the president of the North's state-run Korean Central News agency, Hoog also said "AFP is committed to freedom of information and freedom of expression, which form part of its founding values," according to the report.

The bureau is the result of the two news agencies' agreement earlier this year. AFP will hire and train local reporters to cover developments in the country and dispatch correspondents to the North on a regular basis to file reports.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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