Author: Martyn Williams

  • Homefront: Battling North Korean invasion

    Homefront: Battling North Korean invasion

    The year is 2027 and the Greater Korean Federation, a North Korea-controlled bloc of Asian nations, has been occupying San Francisco for two years. This is the fictional — and many would say unlikely — setting for Homefront, a video game that hits U.S. shelves on March 15. The game pits the player, a member…

  • Pyongyang Earth Station

    In Pyongyang’s eastern suburb of Sadong lies one of North Korea’s gateways with the world. The satellite earth station, pictured below, links the country with international communications satellites. Construction of the earth station began in early 1984, a few months before North Korea joined the Soviet-led Intersputnik group. Back then, Intersputnik served as the satellite…

  • 3G users to hit 1 million this year, says report

    North Korea is expecting the number of 3G users in the country will reach 1 million this year, according to a Chinese television report. The prediction was made by a staffer of Chesin Commercial Corp., the government-linked company that runs North Korea’s international e-mail service, in an interview with Chinese Central Television (CCTV). “It is…

  • CNC big in Kim Jong Il’s January visits

    CNC big in Kim Jong Il’s January visits

    Alongside a call to reduced tensions with its southern neighbor, North Korea’s New Year joint editorial called for a significant effort to modernize and build up its light-industry sector this year. Central to this task will be the adoption of computer-controlled machinery, so-called CNC (computer numeric control) equipment. So it comes as no surprise that…

  • Kim Jong Il calls for computer network expansion

    Kim Jong Il calls for computer network expansion

    Kim Jong Il has called for the expansion of a domestic computer network, according to domestic media reports. His comments were made earlier this month, when he visited the recently-built North Hwanghae Provincial People?s Study House, said KCNA and state radio. The study house was opened in September 2010 and covers 4,500 square meters, according…

  • IP Phone system developed

    Kim Il Sung University’s Information Center has developed an IP phone system, according to a brief KCNA report on Thursday. IP phone systems send calls as digital data over IP (Internet protocol) based networks. While widespread access to the Internet is not available in North Korea, the same IP technology is used on Kwangmyong, the…

  • Orascom CEO meets Kim Jong Il

    Orascom CEO meets Kim Jong Il

    The CEO of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom was given a dinner in his honor hosted by Kim Jong Il on Sunday night, KCNA reported on Monday. (Scroll down for updates) Naguib Sawiris arrived in the North Korean capital on Friday and his meeting with the North Korean leader was the first reported details of his activities.…

  • WPK Rules Revision

    WPK Rules Revision

    North Korea Tech has been passed a PDF file containing what is claimed to be the revised rules of the Workers’ Party of Korea. The document is entirely in Korean and its veracity cannot be confirmed. I don’t have the language skills or a close enough knowledge of the political and military workings of North…

  • Uriminzokkiri’s Twitter account still down

    Uriminzokkiri, the China-based website that carries North Korean news to the world, was the center of attention earlier this month when its Twitter and YouTube channels were hacked. Four Twitter messages and a YouTube video denigrating Kim Jong Il and his son, Kim Jong Un, were posted on Jan. 8, which is reportedly the birthday…

  • FNK Radio attracts North Korean Internet audience

    FNK Radio attracts North Korean Internet audience

    Free North Korea Radio, one of the handful of independent broadcasters targeting North Korea, attracted a direct connection to its website from inside the DPRK on Wednesday morning. The site said an incoming connection from North Korea was recorded between 9:30am and 10am on Wednesday morning. It included the following screenshot (see below) from its…