Author: Martyn Williams

  • US looking into UN tech exports to DPRK

    US looking into UN tech exports to DPRK

    The U.S. Government is looking into exports of computer equipment to North Korea by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the State Department said Thursday. The exports were first reported by Fox News in April. Internal WIPO emails published by Fox News show concerns about the deal were raised in several quarters within the WIPO.…

  • North Korea apparently testing digital radio

    North Korea apparently testing digital radio

    North Korea appears to be testing digital radio broadcasting. Hiroshi Inoue, a radio monitor in Japan, received on Wednesday the country’s international radio service, Voice of Korea, broadcasting on shortwave using DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale). DRM is a digital broadcasting technology developed for use on AM and shortwave services. He posted a couple of clips…

  • DPRK targets South media, but coordinates are wrong

    DPRK targets South media, but coordinates are wrong

    North Korea issued one of its most direct threats yet on South Korean media outlets on Monday. [This post has been updated, see below] The threats, to stage “a merciless sacred war” and to blow up “dens of monstrous crimes” came after South Korean media coverage of the Korean Children’s Union anniversary events that are currently…

  • KCC shows tablet PC at Pyongyang trade fair

    KCC shows tablet PC at Pyongyang trade fair

    The Korea Computer Center, one of North Korea’s leading centers of computer studies, showed off a tablet PC running electronic library software at the recent Pyongyang International Trade Fair. The trade fair, which happens in the spring and autumn each year, is a showcase for the latest products from North Korean companies and from international organizations…

  • Pyongyang denies GPS jamming

    Pyongyang denies GPS jamming

    North Korea denied on Friday that it played any part in a two and a half week long jamming of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals in the border area between North and South Korea. The denial was carried in several state media outlets and said allegations that the DPRK was behind the jamming were part…

  • GPS jamming ends, says report

    GPS jamming ends, says report

    The apparent intentional jamming of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals that has disrupted service near the Korean border has stopped, Yonhap news reported on Tuesday. The jamming has caused inconvenience to hundreds of commercial aviation flights and international shipping since it began on April 28. The source of the interference isn’t known but South Korean…

  • North Koreans gaining more access to foreign media, says report

    Cracks in the information wall that has long surrounded North Korea are increasingly allowing citizens in the country more exposure to foreign media, according to a report published on Thursday. The report, produced by Intermedia for the U.S. Department of State, was based on surveys of several hundred defectors, refugees and travelers, and found “substantial…

  • Many more satellite launches coming, says DPRK

    Many more satellite launches coming, says DPRK

    North Korea’s failed satellite launch may have faded from the pages of the world’s media, but the country’s state-run news agency hasn’t forgotten the international community’s objections to the plan. A commentary published on Thursday by Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) rehashes North Korea’s argument that the launch was part of a peaceful, civilian space…

  • DPRK jamming GPS signals, says Seoul

    DPRK jamming GPS signals, says Seoul

    Interference is causing problems with Global Positioning System (GPS) signals around Seoul and the South Korean government says North Korea is to blame. GPS signals became unreliable on April 30 and more than 250 commercial aircraft has to rely on other navigation methods, according to several local media reports. A spokesman for the Korea Communications Commission…

  • DPRK radio transmitters a national secret

    When North Korea launched a modernization of its broadcasting network in 2011, the Chinese company chosen to supply new TV and radio transmitters to the country faced a problem. The location of broadcast towers in North Korea is so much of a state secret that engineers from the company weren’t permitted to travel to the DPRK…