The BBC has confirmed its intention to create a radio service for North Korea, although, despite a recent report, a start date for this service has not been set. North Korea’s recent test of what it described as a hydrogen bomb, and its launch of a long-range missile, have instilled urgency to the BBC’s plans.

While western media coverage of North Korea's Kim Jong-un is rightly critical, a recent video uploaded to YouTube is making people question the treatment of our own unelected head of state. [...] While it does not exactly offer the perfect comparison in terms of the two regimes, it does arguably highlight an uncomfortable truth about idolisation.

From the World Service to the Queen and even Norman Wisdom, Britain punches above its weight in the soft power stakes. [...] But the global soft-power reach of the UK is a phenomenon all on its own.

The Government has acknowledged the importance of “soft power” in global politics with an unprecedented £85m investment in the BBC World Service to support initiatives in Russia, North Korea, the Middle East and Africa. Lord Hall, the BBC Director-General, welcomed what he described as “the single biggest increase in the World Service budget ever committed by any government.”

Worried about the increased power and reach of state-owned broadcasters such as the Kremlin-backed Russia Today, it appears the BBC hopes to stem the trend of endless rounds of funding cuts by seeking government money to create a new channel to broadcast into Russia. It's also proposing services aimed at reaching North Korea and to increase its penetration of the Arab world.