Author: Martyn Williams

  • Digital Surveillance in North Korea: Moving Toward a Digital Panopticon State

    Digital Surveillance in North Korea: Moving Toward a Digital Panopticon State

    As digital technology spreads through North Korea, it is simultaneously improving daily life and enabling an ever more comprehensive system of state surveillance.

  • A Close-up Look at North Korea’s Digital Map App

    A Close-up Look at North Korea’s Digital Map App

    Fellow Traveler is North Korea’s answer to Google Maps — a state-built app offering a directory of Pyongyang’s shops, restaurants, and landmarks.

  • New Satellite Could Provide Internet Access to North Korea…Someday

    New Satellite Could Provide Internet Access to North Korea…Someday

    A new type of low-orbit satellite capable of connecting directly to smartphones could someday give North Koreans access to the uncensored internet.

  • Twenty Years of Mobile Communications in North Korea

    Twenty Years of Mobile Communications in North Korea

    Twenty years after the first cellular calls in North Korea, mobile phones have become a cornerstone of daily life and the country’s informal private economy.

  • Supreme People’s Assembly adopts a law on distance education

    Supreme People’s Assembly adopts a law on distance education

    North Korea’s distance education system was one of the key topics discussed at last week’s session of the Supreme People’s Assembly with delegates passing a new law on tele-education. Details of the law haven’t yet been announced but it’s prominent inclusion as the second agenda item underlines the importance of the system that has been…

  • Red Star 4 appears in a workplace learning system

    Red Star 4 appears in a workplace learning system

    The newest version of North Korea’s home-grown Linux operating system has been put to use in a new terminal system for use in study rooms that exist at many companies and institutions. Red Star OS version 4 (붉은별 4.0) is used in the system that was produced by Achim Computer (아침콤퓨터합영회사), according to the North…

  • KCTV appears on Chinese satellite

    KCTV appears on Chinese satellite

    Korean Central Television has appeared on a Chinese telecommunications satellite after technical problems hit its existing satellite. KCTV has been relayed on Chinasat-12 since mid-January, which is about a month after Bangkok-based Thaicom reported a “technical incident” on its Thaicom-5 satellite. Thaicom-5 is one of the most important TV satellites for South East Asia and…

  • More YouTube channels deleted, DPRK Today unavailable

    More YouTube channels deleted, DPRK Today unavailable

    It’s been a rough couple of weeks for North Korean propaganda on the Internet. In early-January, YouTube deleted several accounts that carried largely unedited material from Korean Central Television, and this week the website of DPRK Today, which is one of the country’s major Internet propaganda sites, has been offline. It’s unclear if the two…

  • Pyongyang Crypto Conference Site Goes Blank

    Pyongyang Crypto Conference Site Goes Blank

    The website of the 2020 Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference went blank on Friday, two days after a news report said United Nations sanctions experts are poised to warn people not to attend the event. The conference is organized by the Korean Friendship Association, a Spain-based group of overseas supporters of North Korea, and attendance…

  • Can Science and Technology Be a Silver Bullet for the North Korean Economy?

    Can Science and Technology Be a Silver Bullet for the North Korean Economy?

    One of the main themes to come out of Kim Jong Un’s speech to the Workers’ Party plenary in late December is a new emphasis on science and technology. The focus isn’t a surprise. North Korea has been pursuing science and technology as a way to improve its economy for years, but now with no…