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Pyongyang Hotel international call rates
Calling overseas from a hotel room is never a cheap experience, especially so in North Korea. A guide to the Pyongyang Hotel published in late 2021 provides an updated look at the cost of international direct dialed calls from guest rooms. The price of calls varies considerably and there doesn’t seen to be much reason…
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Jonsung smartphones still yet to appear
North Korea’s newest smartphone brand appears to have stumbled. In late 2019, Jonsung Economy & Technology Exchange Company (전승경제기술교류사) made a splash at the 15th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair with a large advertisement showcasing its Samthaesong (삼태성) smartphone. But now, almost two years later, that same smartphone is said to be still under development.…
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5G at the Chinese border?
The Daily NK reported this week that said North Korea is planning to install a 5G wireless network along its northern border with China. The network will link security cameras and aid the authorities in their monitoring of the border. The information comes from an unnamed source in the country, who said that installation of…
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North Korean university links with foreign lecturers for live Internet seminars
Singapore-based Choson Exchange recently concluded a series of seminars with a university in Pyongyang that included two sessions conducted live over the Internet. The seminars are believed to be among the first to involve a live link between a North Korean university and lecturers outside of the country. Titled “Global Service Innovation,” the six-lecture course taught…
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Is North Korea finally getting 4G?
It’s been 12 years since Koryolink began cellular service in North Korea. As the world begins moving to 5G, North Korean customers are still stuck on 3G technology, but that might be about to change. At the just-concluded 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Jong Un told delegates that the telecommunications sector…
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North Korean stamps website appears
With only a couple of days left before the end of 2020, North Korea has launched its latest website on the global Internet. The Korea Stamp site is operated by the country’s national stamp issuer to sell North Korean stamps to collectors worldwide. The site incudes a catalog of several thousand stamps dating back to…
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Two interesting new Twitter accounts
Two new Twitter accounts have drawn the interest of North Korea watchers as they claim to be personally-run accounts by North Koreans that originate from Pyongyang. If true, they represent the first time individual North Koreans have had accounts on Twitter, but are they legit? It’s difficult to conclusively tell without access to the kind…
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North Korea’s Foreign Propaganda Takes a Step Towards Modernity
One of North Korea’s most popular YouTube channels has quietly removed video documentaries that idolize the life of Kim Il Sung, the father of the modern North Korean state. The surprising move—once considered unthinkable inside the country—is the latest step in an evolving strategy that is bringing North Korea’s overseas propaganda efforts into the 21st…
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Ministry of Public Health Launches a Website
North Korea’s Ministry of Public Health has opened a website on the global Internet. The site, at www.moph.gov.kp, is fairly basic in its content and was first reported by Yonhap News. It’s impossible to tell when the site first appeared. While articles on the site are dated from April 2019, it’s relatively trival to back-date…
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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…
