Starting Friday, South Koreans can look up article titles from North Korea's ruling party's newspaper online.

The Unification Ministry said a list of some 730-thousand titles from the Rodong Sinmun can be viewed on the websites of its Information Center on North Korea (unibook.unikorea.go.kr) and the North Korea information portal (nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr). 

The articles span the years from 1946 to 2019. Those from last year and this year have yet to be obtained due to pandemic delays but will be posted at a future date, it said.  

The ministry hopes the latest move will help expand public access to information about North Korea and improve understanding of the reclusive state. 

Until now, access to the North's main broadsheet was only available offline by visiting the Information Center in Seocho-dong, Seoul. While article titles are now posted online, content of the articles can still only be viewed at the center.