More than half a century after he wrote &quot;The Sound of Silence,&quot; American singer Paul Simon says he is ready to hang up his guitar and stop making music. 
 
&quot;You&#39;re coming toward the end,&quot; he told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday. &quot;Showbiz doesn&#39;t hold any interest for me,&quot; said the 74-year-old. &quot;None.&quot; 
 
The folk star turned world music champion, whose US tour ends Friday, released his most recent album, &quot;Stranger to Stranger&quot; on June 3 to rave reviews. 
 
Its single &quot;Wristband&quot; is one of the most played songs on college radio. 
 
His current tour ends in Queens, the New York borough where he grew up and met his now estranged music partner Art Garfunkel. 
 
He is then scheduled to begin a month-long tour of Europe on October 17 in Prague, shortly after his 75th birthday. 
 
Following that, he told the Times that his intention is to drift and travel for a year, perhaps with his wife, the musician Edie Brickell. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s an act of courage to let go,&quot; Simon told the newspaper. &quot;I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I&#39;m going to see, who am I?&quot; 
 
If he does quit music, Simon will bring to a close an extraordinary career that has spanned six decades, won him more than a dozen Grammys and produced songs tracking 50 years of social awakenings. 
 
He and Garfunkel were a signature act of the 1960s, starting off with clean-cut folk songs before delving into fusion. The duo produced hits such as &quot;Bridge Over Troubled Water&quot; and &quot;Mrs Robinson&quot;. 
 
Simon has been named by Time Magazine one of the &quot;100 People Who Shaped the World,&quot; collected more than a dozen Grammys and been named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. 
 
He told the Times that &quot;Wristband,&quot; which was released in April, is a metaphor for today&#39;s struggle between rich and the disenfranchised. 
 
The title refers to a musician who steps into an alley behind a club and finds himself unable to get back in without a wristband. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s just a metaphor for, &#39;You can&#39;t get in. You don&#39;t have what&#39;s required,&#39;&quot; Simon said. &quot;That battle is being fought right now, the haves and have-nots.&quot; 
 
The singer also spoke out against fame, saying he saw it &quot;turn into absolute poison&quot; in the 1960s. 
 
&quot;It killed Presley. It killed Lennon. It killed Michael Jackson. I&#39;ve never known anyone to have gotten an enormous amount of fame who wasn&#39;t, at a minimum, confused by it and had a very hard time making decisions.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

'Showbiz doesn't hold any interest for me...it's an act of courage to let go' says the legendary singer-songwriter

More than half a century after he wrote "The Sound of Silence," American singer Paul Simon says he is ready to hang up his guitar and stop making music. "You're coming toward the end," he told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday. "Showbiz doesn't hold any interest for me," said the 74-year-old. "None." The folk star turned world music champion, whose US tour ends Friday, released his most recent album, "Stranger to Stranger" on June 3 to rave reviews. Its single "Wristband" is one of the most played songs on college radio. His current tour ends in Queens, the New York borough where he grew up and met his now estranged music partner Art Garfunkel. He is then scheduled to begin a month-long tour of Europe on October 17 in Prague, shortly after his 75th birthday. Following that, he told the Times that his intention is to drift and travel for a year, perhaps with his wife, the musician Edie Brickell. "It's an act of courage to let go," Simon told the newspaper. "I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I'm going to see, who am I?" If he does quit music, Simon will bring to a close an extraordinary career that has spanned six decades, won him more than a dozen Grammys and produced songs tracking 50 years of social awakenings. He and Garfunkel were a signature act of the 1960s, starting off with clean-cut folk songs before delving into fusion. The duo produced hits such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Mrs Robinson". Simon has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World," collected more than a dozen Grammys and been named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He told the Times that "Wristband," which was released in April, is a metaphor for today's struggle between rich and the disenfranchised. The title refers to a musician who steps into an alley behind a club and finds himself unable to get back in without a wristband. "It's just a metaphor for, 'You can't get in. You don't have what's required,'" Simon said. "That battle is being fought right now, the haves and have-nots." The singer also spoke out against fame, saying he saw it "turn into absolute poison" in the 1960s. "It killed Presley. It killed Lennon. It killed Michael Jackson. I've never known anyone to have gotten an enormous amount of fame who wasn't, at a minimum, confused by it and had a very hard time making decisions." (AFP)

The Sound of Silence writer Paul Simon to stop making music

Singer Christina Grimmie, the former contestant on television singing contest &quot;The Voice&quot;, died after being shot at a concert in Orlando, said police on social media. 
 
Grimmie was signing autographs with band members of Before You Exit, with whom she performed earlier, when a gunman approached and opened fire before her brother tackled him at the Plaza Live music venue, said the Orlando Police Department on Twitter. 
 
Grimmie died due to her injuries, said the authorities in a post early Saturday. 
 
The assailant shot and killed himself, police tweeted. 
 
Grimmie placed third during the 2014 season of the &quot;The Voice,&quot; a singing competition on NBC. 
 
&quot;We are heartbroken&quot;, The Voice tweeted.

Gunman opens fire as Grimmie was signing autographs after a performance, shocking fans

Singer Christina Grimmie, the former contestant on television singing contest "The Voice", died after being shot at a concert in Orlando, said police on social media. Grimmie was signing autographs with band members of Before You Exit, with whom she performed earlier, when a gunman approached and opened fire before her brother tackled him at the Plaza Live music venue, said the Orlando Police Department on Twitter. Grimmie died due to her injuries, said the authorities in a post early Saturday. The assailant shot and killed himself, police tweeted. Grimmie placed third during the 2014 season of the "The Voice," a singing competition on NBC. "We are heartbroken", The Voice tweeted.

The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie is dead after Orlando concert shooting

Pop singer&nbsp;Madonna&nbsp;prevailed &nbsp;in a&nbsp;copyright&nbsp;lawsuit&nbsp;over her&nbsp;song&nbsp;&quot;Vogue&quot; that alleged one of her producers copied a fraction-of-a-second segment of horns from a&nbsp;song&nbsp;he had also worked on.

In a 2-1 vote, the 9th US&nbsp;Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California ruled that a general audience would not recognize the 0.23-second snippet in &quot;Vogue&quot; as originating from the&nbsp;song&quot;Love Break.&quot;

Shep Pettibone, a producer of &quot;Vogue,&quot; also recorded &quot;Love Break&quot; in the early 1980&#39;s, according to the court ruling.

The plaintiff, VMG Salsoul LLC, owns the&nbsp;copyright&nbsp;to &quot;Love Break&quot; and alleged Pettibone sampled the &quot;horn hit&quot; from the earlier work and added it to &quot;Vogue.&quot;

But the appeals court ruled in favor of&nbsp;Madonna, Pettibone and other defendants including Warner Bros Records.

&quot;Defendants copied, at most, a quarter-note single horn hit and a full measure containing rests and a double horn hit,&quot; Circuit Judge Susan Graber wrote for the majority. &quot;A reasonable jury could not conclude that an average audience would recognize an appropriation of the &#39;Love Break&#39; composition.&quot;

The dissenting judge, Barry Silverman, said even a small sample of music, used without a license, should be a&nbsp;copyright&nbsp;violation. &quot;In any other context, this would be called theft,&quot; Silverman wrote.

Robert Besser, a lawyer for VMG Salsoul, said in a phone interview: &quot;I agree with the dissent because it should be an infringement for copying any piece of any sound recording.&quot; He said his client would review its legal options.

A lawyer for&nbsp;Madonna&nbsp;could not immediately be reached for comment.

The singer?won a?copyright?lawsuit?over her?song?"Vogue" that alleged one of her producers copied a fraction-of-a-second segment of horns from a?song

Pop singer Madonna prevailed in a copyright lawsuit over her song "Vogue" that alleged one of her producers copied a fraction-of-a-second segment of horns from a song he had also worked on. In a 2-1 vote, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California ruled that a general audience would not recognize the 0.23-second snippet in "Vogue" as originating from the song"Love Break." Shep Pettibone, a producer of "Vogue," also recorded "Love Break" in the early 1980's, according to the court ruling. The plaintiff, VMG Salsoul LLC, owns the copyright to "Love Break" and alleged Pettibone sampled the "horn hit" from the earlier work and added it to "Vogue." But the appeals court ruled in favor of Madonna, Pettibone and other defendants including Warner Bros Records. "Defendants copied, at most, a quarter-note single horn hit and a full measure containing rests and a double horn hit," Circuit Judge Susan Graber wrote for the majority. "A reasonable jury could not conclude that an average audience would recognize an appropriation of the 'Love Break' composition." The dissenting judge, Barry Silverman, said even a small sample of music, used without a license, should be a copyright violation. "In any other context, this would be called theft," Silverman wrote. Robert Besser, a lawyer for VMG Salsoul, said in a phone interview: "I agree with the dissent because it should be an infringement for copying any piece of any sound recording." He said his client would review its legal options. A lawyer for Madonna could not immediately be reached for comment.

Madonna prevails in copyright lawsuit over 'Vogue' number

Music superstar&nbsp;Prince, who was found dead in his home in a Minneapolis suburb in late April,&nbsp;died&nbsp;of an&nbsp;accidental, self-administered&nbsp;overdose&nbsp;of an opioid painkiller, the county&nbsp;medical&nbsp;examiner&nbsp;said in a death report on Thursday.

The Midwest&nbsp;Medical&nbsp;Examiner&#39;s Office in Anoka County, Minnesota, had been investigating the 57-year-old&nbsp;singer&#39;s death since he was discovered in an elevator in his home and studio on April 21.

&quot;The decedent self-administered fentanyl,&quot; the&nbsp;medical&nbsp;examiner&#39;s report said,&nbsp;listing cause of death as &quot;fentanyl toxicity&quot;, and noting it was&nbsp;accidental.

The investigation into&nbsp;Prince&#39;s death has centered on&nbsp;painkillers after prescription opioid medication was found at the scene and after reports he had been struggling with an addiction and had been scheduled to meet with a doctor who specializes in treating dependency.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive opiate that is more powerful than morphine and is used to treat patients with severe pain, often after surgeries. It took weeks for officials to release the cause of death because they were waiting for the results of toxicity tests.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune said it was not clear whether fentanyl had been prescribed to Prince&nbsp;and if so, which doctor prescribed it.

Fentanyl is often sold illegally and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has said that rising drug overdose&nbsp;deaths in the United States are linked to increased use of illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

The local prosecutor, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz, said the county sheriff&#39;s office continues to investigate&nbsp;Prince&#39;s death, assisted by federal authorities, but at this point has not handed over the results of the probe to prosecutors.

&quot;They will be looking at many different things,&quot; Metz told Reuters by telephone.

Prince, whose full name was&nbsp;Prince&nbsp;Rogers Nelson, did not leave a will, and his multimillion-dollar estate including royalties from his more than 30 albums is being handled by a court. The songwriter&#39;s hits include &quot;Purple Rain&quot; and &quot;When Doves Cry.&quot;

Music superstar?Prince, who was found dead in late April,?died?of an?accidental, self-administered?overdose?of an opioid painkiller, the county?medical?examiner?said in a death report on Thursday

Music superstar Prince, who was found dead in his home in a Minneapolis suburb in late April, died of an accidental, self-administered overdose of an opioid painkiller, the county medical examiner said in a death report on Thursday. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Anoka County, Minnesota, had been investigating the 57-year-old singer's death since he was discovered in an elevator in his home and studio on April 21. "The decedent self-administered fentanyl," the medical examiner's report said, listing cause of death as "fentanyl toxicity", and noting it was accidental. The investigation into Prince's death has centered on painkillers after prescription opioid medication was found at the scene and after reports he had been struggling with an addiction and had been scheduled to meet with a doctor who specializes in treating dependency. Fentanyl is a highly addictive opiate that is more powerful than morphine and is used to treat patients with severe pain, often after surgeries. It took weeks for officials to release the cause of death because they were waiting for the results of toxicity tests. The Minneapolis Star Tribune said it was not clear whether fentanyl had been prescribed to Prince and if so, which doctor prescribed it. Fentanyl is often sold illegally and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has said that rising drug overdose deaths in the United States are linked to increased use of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The local prosecutor, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz, said the county sheriff's office continues to investigate Prince's death, assisted by federal authorities, but at this point has not handed over the results of the probe to prosecutors. "They will be looking at many different things," Metz told Reuters by telephone. Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, did not leave a will, and his multimillion-dollar estate including royalties from his more than 30 albums is being handled by a court. The songwriter's hits include "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry."

Singer Prince died of accidental painkiller overdose: Medical examiner

German prosecutors are investigating claims by 26 women that they were sexually harassed at a music festival in the western city of Darmstadt at the weekend and police have arrested three men with Pakistani backgrounds, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.

By late on Tuesday, 26 women had come forward and 14 formal complaints had been made.

&quot;The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately,&quot; the spokesman said, adding the matter was now with prosecutors.

The incident has set off alarm bells in Germany after mass sexual attacks on women at New Year&#39;s Eve in Cologne, which fuelled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s open-door migrant policy.

Hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the Cologne train station and police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance.

Darmstadt police said they had on Sunday arrested three male suspects aged between 28 and 31. Two are seeking asylum, and a third is also from Pakistan but has been living in Germany for a long time. It is unclear if he was also seeking asylum.

More women came forward once they heard about the arrests at the four-day music festival which attracted a total of 300,000-400,000 people, the spokesman said.

Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party&#39;s popularity since her welcome to migrants, Merkel told Bunte magazine that even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year.

&quot;I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do,&quot; she told Bunte.

German prosecutors are investigating claims of 26 women who say they were were sexually harassed in a music festival in Darmstadt

German prosecutors are investigating claims by 26 women that they were sexually harassed at a music festival in the western city of Darmstadt at the weekend and police have arrested three men with Pakistani backgrounds, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. By late on Tuesday, 26 women had come forward and 14 formal complaints had been made. "The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately," the spokesman said, adding the matter was now with prosecutors. The incident has set off alarm bells in Germany after mass sexual attacks on women at New Year's Eve in Cologne, which fuelled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. Hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the Cologne train station and police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance. Darmstadt police said they had on Sunday arrested three male suspects aged between 28 and 31. Two are seeking asylum, and a third is also from Pakistan but has been living in Germany for a long time. It is unclear if he was also seeking asylum. More women came forward once they heard about the arrests at the four-day music festival which attracted a total of 300,000-400,000 people, the spokesman said. Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party's popularity since her welcome to migrants, Merkel told Bunte magazine that even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year. "I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do," she told Bunte.

Germany investigates sexual attacks on women at music festival

Light, bubbly music can be heard at a local cafe in Manila, with customers jamming at the sound of ukuleles to relax and unwind.

Owners of &quot;Uke Box Caffe&quot; lets customers listen in or play ukuleles while having a cup of coffee.

Customers can bring their own ukuleles or rent the cafe&#39;s instruments hanging on the wall, which doubles as its decor, for a small fee.

Patrons can listen to local bands playing ukuleles during jamming nights and even join the performance, with music ranging from classical to contemporary pieces specifically arranged for the instrument.

Professional instructors also provide free ukulele lessons for beginners on weekends, which are normally packed with hobbyists and young professionals.

Participants are taught basic chords and are encouraged to perform together to boost confidence.

&quot;Regardless of your background in life, your music ed or whatsoever professional, a businessman, as long as you want to relax, this is the instrument that we encourage you to grab,&quot; said Tryrone De Guzman, one of the ukulele instructors.

The cafe, which started in 2015, came from the owners&#39; love of playing ukuleles and their desire to provide unique&nbsp;entertainment&nbsp;for customers.

It has since then drawn crowds who regularly visit the cafe to listen and sometimes participate in the jamming sessions.

&quot;Weekends are special for me, that&#39;s my time with family and also to recuperate from work, so I consider this as an option for relaxation,&quot; said Jana Deborah Mier, a doctor who has been going to the cafe for weeks to study the instrument.

&quot;Definitely it&#39;s a very easy musical instrument to learn. It doesn&#39;t need big hands unlike guitars where you need a bigger hand to grab all the chords. Here it&#39;s just a four string instrument that&#39;s small yet powerful,&quot; said Fil Carrion, a ukulele enthusiast.

Ukuleles said to have originated from Hawaii and are known for their small, four-stringed body that was adapted from a Portuguese guitar-like instrument from the 19th century.

A cafe in Manila serves hearty entertainment by allowing customers to experience and play ukulele.

Light, bubbly music can be heard at a local cafe in Manila, with customers jamming at the sound of ukuleles to relax and unwind. Owners of "Uke Box Caffe" lets customers listen in or play ukuleles while having a cup of coffee. Customers can bring their own ukuleles or rent the cafe's instruments hanging on the wall, which doubles as its decor, for a small fee. Patrons can listen to local bands playing ukuleles during jamming nights and even join the performance, with music ranging from classical to contemporary pieces specifically arranged for the instrument. Professional instructors also provide free ukulele lessons for beginners on weekends, which are normally packed with hobbyists and young professionals. Participants are taught basic chords and are encouraged to perform together to boost confidence. "Regardless of your background in life, your music ed or whatsoever professional, a businessman, as long as you want to relax, this is the instrument that we encourage you to grab," said Tryrone De Guzman, one of the ukulele instructors. The cafe, which started in 2015, came from the owners' love of playing ukuleles and their desire to provide unique entertainment for customers. It has since then drawn crowds who regularly visit the cafe to listen and sometimes participate in the jamming sessions. "Weekends are special for me, that's my time with family and also to recuperate from work, so I consider this as an option for relaxation," said Jana Deborah Mier, a doctor who has been going to the cafe for weeks to study the instrument. "Definitely it's a very easy musical instrument to learn. It doesn't need big hands unlike guitars where you need a bigger hand to grab all the chords. Here it's just a four string instrument that's small yet powerful," said Fil Carrion, a ukulele enthusiast. Ukuleles said to have originated from Hawaii and are known for their small, four-stringed body that was adapted from a Portuguese guitar-like instrument from the 19th century.

Customers strum music in Manila's ukulele cafe

For an hour each day, Kim Chung-seong, a defector from North Korea and a Christian missionary, takes to the microphone in a small Seoul studio.

At 1 a.m., his show, &quot;Hello from Seoul, the Republic of Korea,&quot; sends a mix of gospel music and news into North Korea, defying the isolated state&#39;s efforts to keep its people in the dark about the world, religion and the truth about its leaders.

&quot;Brothers and sisters in the North, I hope this time can be a moment of prayer for a miracle that every party member of North Korea at the party congress can meet God, not take a further step into the cult of personality,&quot; Kim said.

He was referring to the meeting of the North&#39;s ruling Workers&#39; Party this month, where young leader Kim Jong Un was unanimously elevated to party chairman.

&quot;I am desperately praying that North Korea&#39;s Kim Jong Un and all administrators under him kneel down in front of God and repent for their sins, leave the path of tormenting their people,&quot; Kim, who came to the South in 2004, said in his studio at the Far East Broadcasting Company.

North Korea strictly bans access to outside information, but a growing number of North Koreans consume illicit media, including South Korean TV dramas that show the prosperity of life across the heavily fortified border, via contraband USB sticks and DVDs smuggled from China.

The impoverished North is still technically at war with rich, democratic South Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. It has also been slapped with UN and other sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes.

Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, told a Senate panel in October that up to 29 percent of North Koreans had listened to foreign radio and said the medium, including the U.S. government&#39;s Voice of America, remained the most important way to get information into the country.

&nbsp;

&quot;LISTENING UNDER THE BLANKET&quot;

Kim Myung-jun,&nbsp;professor at Sogang University&#39;s school of mass communications in Seoul, said smuggled USB sticks and DVDs were more about&nbsp;entertainment, whereas radio carried news.

&quot;Once you listen in, you tend to keep listening under the blanket. It gets you addicted,&quot; he said. &quot;AM radio stations like Far East Broadcasting Company have pretty good signals and can be listened to clearly in much of North Korea.&quot;

Kim, the broadcaster, said he tried to delegitimise the three-generation Kim family dictatorship and preach Christian gospel on his show, often with fellow defectors as guests.

&quot;I am not saying everything is bad in North Korea,&quot; said Kim, 39, who has hosted the show for six years.

&quot;But, for example, if the party congress is meant to worship one particular person and make 20 million people that person&#39;s slaves, that is meaningless. That&#39;s what I am talking about on my show.&quot;

North Korea&#39;s constitution guarantees freedom of religion provided it does not undermine the state, but outside of a small handful of state-controlled places of worship, no open religious activity is allowed.

It is also illegal to own a radio that can be tuned, and the only radio or TV sets permitted are those pre-set to state channels. However, many tune in to foreign shows with smuggled Chinese radios and illegally altered North Korean sets.

One weekly guest, defector Ko Ji-eun, said she was a fan of Kim&#39;s show while hiding in China for several years.

After she arrived in Seoul last year, Ko met a fellow defector who had listened to the show while inside the North last year and has since fled to the South.

&quot;North Koreans are now using Chinese earphones not to expose themselves to authorities,&quot; Ko said. &quot;Many people inside North Korea are listening to this radio a lot.&quot;

For an hour each day, Kim Chung-seong, a defector from North Korea and a Christian missionary, takes to the microphone in a small Seoul studio. At 1 a.m., his show, "Hello from Seoul, the Republic of Korea," sends a mix of gospel music and news into North Korea.

For an hour each day, Kim Chung-seong, a defector from North Korea and a Christian missionary, takes to the microphone in a small Seoul studio. At 1 a.m., his show, "Hello from Seoul, the Republic of Korea," sends a mix of gospel music and news into North Korea, defying the isolated state's efforts to keep its people in the dark about the world, religion and the truth about its leaders. "Brothers and sisters in the North, I hope this time can be a moment of prayer for a miracle that every party member of North Korea at the party congress can meet God, not take a further step into the cult of personality," Kim said. He was referring to the meeting of the North's ruling Workers' Party this month, where young leader Kim Jong Un was unanimously elevated to party chairman. "I am desperately praying that North Korea's Kim Jong Un and all administrators under him kneel down in front of God and repent for their sins, leave the path of tormenting their people," Kim, who came to the South in 2004, said in his studio at the Far East Broadcasting Company. North Korea strictly bans access to outside information, but a growing number of North Koreans consume illicit media, including South Korean TV dramas that show the prosperity of life across the heavily fortified border, via contraband USB sticks and DVDs smuggled from China. The impoverished North is still technically at war with rich, democratic South Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. It has also been slapped with UN and other sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes. Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, told a Senate panel in October that up to 29 percent of North Koreans had listened to foreign radio and said the medium, including the U.S. government's Voice of America, remained the most important way to get information into the country. "LISTENING UNDER THE BLANKET" Kim Myung-jun, professor at Sogang University's school of mass communications in Seoul, said smuggled USB sticks and DVDs were more about entertainment, whereas radio carried news. "Once you listen in, you tend to keep listening under the blanket. It gets you addicted," he said. "AM radio stations like Far East Broadcasting Company have pretty good signals and can be listened to clearly in much of North Korea." Kim, the broadcaster, said he tried to delegitimise the three-generation Kim family dictatorship and preach Christian gospel on his show, often with fellow defectors as guests. "I am not saying everything is bad in North Korea," said Kim, 39, who has hosted the show for six years. "But, for example, if the party congress is meant to worship one particular person and make 20 million people that person's slaves, that is meaningless. That's what I am talking about on my show." North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion provided it does not undermine the state, but outside of a small handful of state-controlled places of worship, no open religious activity is allowed. It is also illegal to own a radio that can be tuned, and the only radio or TV sets permitted are those pre-set to state channels. However, many tune in to foreign shows with smuggled Chinese radios and illegally altered North Korean sets. One weekly guest, defector Ko Ji-eun, said she was a fan of Kim's show while hiding in China for several years. After she arrived in Seoul last year, Ko met a fellow defector who had listened to the show while inside the North last year and has since fled to the South. "North Koreans are now using Chinese earphones not to expose themselves to authorities," Ko said. "Many people inside North Korea are listening to this radio a lot."

Good morning, North Korea! Defector preaches dangers of cult worship

For an hour every day, Kim Chung-seong, a defector from&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;and a Christian missionary, takes to the microphone in a small Seoul studio. 
At 1 am, his show, &quot;Hello from Seoul, the Republic of&nbsp;Korea&quot;, sends a mix of gospel music and news into&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea, defying the isolated state&#39;s efforts to keep its people in the dark about the world, religion and the truth about its leaders. 
&quot;Brothers and sisters in the&nbsp;North, I hope this time can be a moment of prayer for a miracle that every party member of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;at the party congress can meet God, not take a further step into the cult of personality,&quot; Kim said. 
He was referring to the meeting of the&nbsp;North&#39;s ruling Workers&#39; Party this month, where young leader Kim Jong Un was unanimously elevated to party chairman. 
&quot;I am desperately praying that&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&#39;s Kim Jong Un and all administrators under him kneel down in front of God and repent for their sins, leave the path of tormenting their people,&quot; Kim, who came to the South in 2004, said in his studio at the Far East Broadcasting Company. 
North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;strictly bans access to outside information, but a growing number of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Koreans consume illicit media, including South&nbsp;Korean TV dramas that show the prosperity of life across the heavily fortified border, via contraband USB sticks and DVDs smuggled from China. 
The impoverished&nbsp;North&nbsp;is still technically at war with rich, democratic South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. It has also been slapped with UN and other sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes. 
Robert King, U.S. special envoy for&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean human rights issues, told a Senate panel in October that up to 29 percent of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Koreans had listened to foreign radio and said the medium, including the U.S. government&#39;s Voice of America, remained the most important way to get information into the country. 
 
&quot;LISTENING UNDER THE BLANKET&quot; 
Kim Myung-jun,&nbsp;professor at Sogang University&#39;s school of mass communications in Seoul, said smuggled USB sticks and DVDs were more about entertainment, whereas radio carried news. 
&quot;Once you listen in, you tend to keep listening under the blanket. It gets you addicted,&quot; he said. &quot;AM radio stations like Far East Broadcasting Company have pretty good signals and can be listened to clearly in much of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea.&quot; 
Kim, the broadcaster, said he tried to delegitimise the three-generation Kim family dictatorship and preach Christian gospel on his show, often with fellow defectors as guests. 
&quot;I am not saying everything is bad in&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea,&quot; said Kim, 39, who has hosted the show for six years. 
&quot;But, for example, if the party congress is meant to worship one particular person and make 20 million people that person&#39;s slaves, that is meaningless. That&#39;s what I am talking about on my show.&quot; 
North&nbsp;Korea&#39;s constitution guarantees freedom of religion provided it does not undermine the state, but outside of a small handful of state-controlled places of worship, no open religious activity is allowed. 
It is also illegal to own a radio that can be tuned, and the only radio or TV sets permitted are those pre-set to state channels. However, many tune in to foreign shows with smuggled Chinese radios and illegally altered&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean sets. 
&nbsp;Defector Ko Ji-eun, a weekly guest said she was a fan of Kim&#39;s show while hiding in China for several years. 
After she arrived in Seoul last year, Ko met a fellow defector who had listened to the show while inside the&nbsp;North&nbsp;last year and has since fled to the South. 
&quot;North&nbsp;Koreans are now using Chinese earphones not to expose themselves to authorities,&quot; Ko said. &quot;Many people inside&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;are listening to this radio a lot.&quot;

A defector from North Korea and a Christian missionary send news and gospel music to North Korea.

For an hour every day, Kim Chung-seong, a defector from North Korea and a Christian missionary, takes to the microphone in a small Seoul studio. At 1 am, his show, "Hello from Seoul, the Republic of Korea", sends a mix of gospel music and news into North Korea, defying the isolated state's efforts to keep its people in the dark about the world, religion and the truth about its leaders. "Brothers and sisters in the North, I hope this time can be a moment of prayer for a miracle that every party member of North Korea at the party congress can meet God, not take a further step into the cult of personality," Kim said. He was referring to the meeting of the North's ruling Workers' Party this month, where young leader Kim Jong Un was unanimously elevated to party chairman. "I am desperately praying that North Korea's Kim Jong Un and all administrators under him kneel down in front of God and repent for their sins, leave the path of tormenting their people," Kim, who came to the South in 2004, said in his studio at the Far East Broadcasting Company. North Korea strictly bans access to outside information, but a growing number of North Koreans consume illicit media, including South Korean TV dramas that show the prosperity of life across the heavily fortified border, via contraband USB sticks and DVDs smuggled from China. The impoverished North is still technically at war with rich, democratic South Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. It has also been slapped with UN and other sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes. Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, told a Senate panel in October that up to 29 percent of North Koreans had listened to foreign radio and said the medium, including the U.S. government's Voice of America, remained the most important way to get information into the country. "LISTENING UNDER THE BLANKET" Kim Myung-jun, professor at Sogang University's school of mass communications in Seoul, said smuggled USB sticks and DVDs were more about entertainment, whereas radio carried news. "Once you listen in, you tend to keep listening under the blanket. It gets you addicted," he said. "AM radio stations like Far East Broadcasting Company have pretty good signals and can be listened to clearly in much of North Korea." Kim, the broadcaster, said he tried to delegitimise the three-generation Kim family dictatorship and preach Christian gospel on his show, often with fellow defectors as guests. "I am not saying everything is bad in North Korea," said Kim, 39, who has hosted the show for six years. "But, for example, if the party congress is meant to worship one particular person and make 20 million people that person's slaves, that is meaningless. That's what I am talking about on my show." North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion provided it does not undermine the state, but outside of a small handful of state-controlled places of worship, no open religious activity is allowed. It is also illegal to own a radio that can be tuned, and the only radio or TV sets permitted are those pre-set to state channels. However, many tune in to foreign shows with smuggled Chinese radios and illegally altered North Korean sets. Defector Ko Ji-eun, a weekly guest said she was a fan of Kim's show while hiding in China for several years. After she arrived in Seoul last year, Ko met a fellow defector who had listened to the show while inside the North last year and has since fled to the South. "North Koreans are now using Chinese earphones not to expose themselves to authorities," Ko said. "Many people inside North Korea are listening to this radio a lot."

Good morning, North Korea! Defector preaches on radio about the dangers of a personality cult

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