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Activision cuts short North Korea’s space dreams
That didn’t last long. U.S. video game maker Activision has filed a copyright takedown demand with YouTube resulting in the removal of a video that sees a North Korean man dream of reunification, Korean domination of space and the collapse of the United States. Uriminzokkiri is a semi-official North Korean web site based in China. It speaks…
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Schmidt’s Internet message “well received,” says Richardson
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s message on the importance of embracing the Internet was “well received” in Pyongyang, according to Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico. Richardson, writing in The Washington Post on Friday, invited Schmidt to accompany him on a private trip to North Korea in January. During the trip, the delegation met with…
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Great National Unity website launches
North Korea’s newest website, Great National Unity, launched Thursday. The site is supposedly run by Pyongyang Broadcasting Station, the country’s radio station that targets Korean-language speakers in South Korea, Japan and China, and its imminent launch was announced by state radio earlier this week. At first glance, the site appears largely consistent with web design…
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North again ranked second worst for press freedom
File this one under business as usual. North Korea was again ranked second-to-last in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index while South Korea continued to drop down the ranking. The Paris-based press censorship watchdog ranked North Korea as 178th in its survey, just one rank above Eritrea. “Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the head of…
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Pyongyang Broadcasting Station to launch website
Pyongyang Broadcasting Station, North Korea’s Korean-language radio station aimed at nearby countries, is launching a website this week, according to announcements made Tuesday on domestic and international broadcasts. The new website will be called “Grand National Unity” and will be available at www.gnu.rep.kp from February 1st, according to the announcements. That site currently holds a test…
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Koryolink international calling rates detailed
Over the weekend a series of stories from Pyongyang reported that visitors to North Korea can now buy SIM cards for the local Koryolink network so they can make international calls while in the country. Thanks to an update from Young Pioneer Tours, which was the first to report on the new service, we now…
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Eric Schmidt on his North Korean visit
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has posted some thoughts on his recent trip to Pyongyang. The comments appeared on his Google Plus page on Saturday, the same day his daughter also posted her impressions of the trip. The executive’s comments won’t provide any big revelations, at least they shouldn’t to readers of this blog. He generally…
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DPRK officials indicated Internet is inevitable, says Sophie Schmidt
Sophie Schmidt, the daughter of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, has written a comprehensive blog post about her recent trip to Pyongyang and included in her revelations: North Korean officials seemed to acknowledge they can’t keep the Internet out. The posting is perhaps the most complete account yet of the visit by any member of the group,…
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Tourists allowed to take in cell phones
Young Pioneer Tours, one of the handful of agencies taking tourists into North Korea, reports that a group just returned from the country were permitted by customs officials to take their cell phones into the country. The news is intriguing because North Korea has long taken phones from visitors as they cross the border. The…
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Maybe North Korea didn’t hack us after all, says South
Well, this is a little embarrassing. The presidential transition team that Thursday blamed North Korean hackers for an attack on its press room now says there was no hacking. It all appears to have been a misunderstanding. Reporting on the reversal, Yonhap quoted an official on the team as saying the allegations stemmed from a disconnect in communications within…
