Author: Martyn Williams

  • A look at Kim Il Sung University’s computer labs

    A look at Kim Il Sung University’s computer labs

    The visit of group of Chinese graduates of Kim Il Sung University to their alma mater has provided a chance to see some of the computer labs in the establishment. Coverage of the visit was carried by both KCNA and state television, which broadcast a 40-second report on November 25th. I’ve posted some stills from…

  • Distance education network reportedly launched

    Distance education network reportedly launched

    In mid November the North Korean state media carried stories about the inauguration of a new distance-learning network. The reports expand on a brief bulletin issued in early October about the start of an “online lecture” service. The network is based at the Grand People’s Study House in Pyongyang and connects to centers of learning…

  • Koryolink Q3 2010 results

    Koryolink Q3 2010 results

    Third-quarter financial results for Koryolink have been announced by majority-owner Orascom Telecom and what a quarter it was! The network managed record growth and revenue, thanks largely to network expansion. Koryolink is North Korea’s only 3G cellular network and is operated by CHEO Technology, a joint venture in which Orascom holds 75 percent and the…

  • North Korea gets a new PDA

    North Korea gets a new PDA

    North Korean shops have begun selling a new PDA (personal digital assistant), according to the blog of a Russian studying in the country. The Pyongyang Show and Tell blog, which also introduced us to Red Flag Linux, has some pictures of the PDA and a few technical specs. It appears to be very much in…

  • Korean Central Broadcasting Station

    Korean Central Broadcasting Station

    The Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) (Korean: ??????, Chinese: ??????, Japanese: ??????) is the main domestic radio network in the DPRK. It sits under the Central Broadcasting Committee of the DPRK (called the Radio and Television Committee of the DPRK until 2009). KCBS broadcasts from 5am to 3am local time via a network of mediumwave…

  • How digital technology helps get news from North Korea

    Today I had the chance to meet and hear Jiro Ishimaru of AsiaPress speak at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. He was there to talk about how the Japanese news agency manages a small network of North Koreans who report from inside the country and smuggle out images and video. The network is fascinating…

  • 2010 National Program Contest

    The 21st National Program Contest was opened on Thursday, according to state media. The annual event is a showcase for the latest computer software developed in the DPRK and sees prizes awarded in several categories. This year they included 15 areas of research including “system and security, man-made intelligence and processing of Korean language information,”…

  • Naenara is back

    North Korea’s Naenara website is back. The site went offline around early September when the dot-kp domain name space went down. Naenara is run by Pyongyang’s Korea Computer Center and offers news, photos, shopping, tourism information and MP3 files from North Korea. It’s running inside North Korea’s recently-activated domestic IP address space, but isn’t working…

  • Classes begin at PUST

    Long-time North Korea watchers will be familiar with the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). The project has been planned and talked about for years and always seemed ready to start “next year.” Well, that time has finally come, according to a report in the New York Times. The first classes, in technical English,…

  • South Korea now blocking new KCNA site

    South Korea now blocking new KCNA site

    South Korea has begun blocking domestic access to the recently launched KCNA website that operates from North Korea’s IP space. Internet users trying to access the site now get redirected to the National Police Agency’s static warning page. The move isn’t a surprise. The writing was on the wall for the website as soon as…