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BBC decides against service for North Korea
The BBC World Service has decided not to launch a service aimed at North Korea, concluding any programming aimed at the country would face an uncertain audience and not be cost-effective. The decision was relayed in a letter from British Foreign Secretary William Hague to the U.K. Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The BBC World Service is…
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App lets you keep up with KCNA on iPhone, iPad
If you use an Apple iPhone or iPad, there’s a new app that lets you stay current with news from the Korean Central News Agency. IJuche is the product of work by Peter Curtis, who says he became fascinated with the DPRK after reading Andrew Holloway’s “A Year in Pyongyang.” “When I decided that I…
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“Mass intimidation” from DPRK media on Jang’s execution
North Korean state media’s coverage of the arrest, trial and subsequent execution of Jang Song Thaek was “tantamount to mass intimidation,” Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday. “Although only to be expected from one of the world’s worst dictatorships, such manipulation of news and information is disturbing,” the Paris-based group said in a statement. “The extensive…
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AP’s Guttenfelder named Time’s top Instagram photographer
Time Magazine has named David Guttenfelder its top Instagram photographer of the year for his on-going series of photos that chronicle life in North Korea. Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, has made numerous journeys to the DPRK over the past several years and began directly chronicling the country through Instagram earlier this…
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Orascom has $422 million in cash in North Korea
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the Egyptian company that owns a 75 percent stake in North Korea’s on 3G cellular network operator, has apparently been doing very well in the North Korean market. A recent audit report by Deloitte says the company’s assets in North Korea stand at US2 million, of which 2 million…
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WRN ending Voice of Korea on-demand audio
High-quality audio streams from the Voice of Korea, North Korea’s international broadcaster, will soon be gone from the web. The recordings, which are available in five languages, have been offered by London-based World Radio Network since July this year, but the company is shutting down its on-demand service on December 15. The move is part of an effort by…
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DPRK joins maritime satellite organization
North Korea recently joined an international organization that overseas safety and security satellite communications services for mariners. The country became the 98th nation to join the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO) when it acceded on October 15, according to a statement from the organization. The IMSO is charged with overseeing public safety and security services…
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KCNA web traffic uncovered
A Washington, D.C.-based journalist and blogger has managed to obtain details on web traffic to the Korean Central News Agency’s website thanks to poor security on a previous version of the site. Writing on his blog, Dino Beslagic said he was able to access the site traffic data through a hidden interface page on the…
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KCNA adds higher resolution images
Regular visitors to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) might have noticed something different about the site in the last few days. The North Korean state-run news agency has begun publishing higher resolution photographers alongside articles. The change was first noted by Frank Feinstein, the New Zealand-based researcher who runs the KCNA Watch service. The…
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KCNA Watch attracts bans in North and South Korea
KCNA Watch, a website that collects articles, pictures and video from the Korean Central News Agency, isn’t making friends on either side of the Korean border. A communications regulator in South Korea has blocked access to the service while the North Korean government has restricted access to its services from New Zealand, apparently due to…
