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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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Google Maps adds data on North Korea
Google’s on a bit of a North Korean kick at the moment. Just weeks after its chairman, Eric Schmidt, made a high-profile visit to Pyongyang, the company has added additional detail about the county to Google Maps. Roads, subway stations, parks and some major monuments and buildings are on the new map, which became available…
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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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Policy change allows tourist cell phones, Internet to come, says Xinhua
The North Korean government is now allowing tourists to keep hold of their cell phones when they enter the country and buy SIM cards on the local network, according to a report by China’s Xinhua news agency. The report comes hours after Young Pioneer Tours said tourists on their most recent trip were able to…
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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…
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Suspected DPRK cyber attacks back in the news
Cyber attacks on South Korean networks suspected to have originated in North Korea are back in the news. On Thursday, Yonhap News reported that a computer server handling the Internet connection for the press rooms at South Korea’s presidential transition team had been hacked. The hack, which was not detailed, was detected during a security check by…
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DPRK tablet PC can receive TV broadcasts
North Korea’s main evening news featured a minute-long report on the tablet computers on Thursday night. The report, which focused on the Samjiyon tablet, interviewed a man identified as the chief engineer of the tablet from the Multimedia Technology Research Institute of the Korea Computer Center. The tablet first made an appearance in September at…