Unveiling North Korea's YouTube Cyber Propaganda as a tool of Cognitive Warfare: A Narrative Structural Analysis Approach

There is a growing interest in North Korea's use of YouTube as a platform for cyber propaganda and agitation. Access to the internet is mostly illegal for the ordinary citizens in North Korea. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider the cyber propaganda of North Korean YouTubers as a strategic communication activity in the context of cognitive warfare. This assumption suggests that North Korea's YouTube propaganda should be examined as an act of cognitive warfare. However, there has been no academic research conducted to explore the narratives and influence of North Korea's YouTube propaganda in order to understand its impact on the human domain and its use of narrative as a weapon. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the status and influence of North Korea's cognitive warfare on YouTube, using a sample of 18 videos uploaded to the “Youmi's Space” account. The study employs a qualitative analysis method, namely narrative analysis, to identify the structural features and recurring themes in the narratives, in order to assess their potential impact on the audience. The results indicate that North Korea’ YouTube propaganda is a part of strategic communications in the context of greater cognitive warfare planed by North Korean government. Also, the narratives in the YouTube may have significant influence on the audience. That implies the narratives are weaponized narrative as a strategic communication tool. In the conclusion and discussion, the study results, the political implication, and the contribution are discussed.