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Koryolink said to have 3 million subscriptions
North Korean cellular operator Koryolink has 3 million subscriptions, according to a report from Reuters. The figure was provided by a Koryolink staffer to Reuters correspondent James Pearson, who was in Pyongyang last week to cover the 70th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. No more details were provided, which is run-of-the-mill for Koryolink. Orascom…
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BBC proposes news for North Korea, but it’s far from decided
The BBC has proposed launching a daily news service for North Korea, but the broadcast could be years from starting, if it starts at all. Plans for the service were included in a report published on Monday by the BBC that outline its proposals for the next decade. Among the, additional efforts by the BBC World Service…
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Orascom’s no closer to getting its cash from North Korea
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) has reported no significant progress in talks with the North Korean government over two big issues it faces in the country. In its second quarter financial results, Orascom says it’s still trying to figure out how to get its cash out of the country and a possible merger of…
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Pyongyang Time is here and there are already changes
North Korea’s new time zone, Pyongyang Time, went into effect early Friday and changes are already being seen. The new time zone shifts time in North Korea so it’s half an hour later than the time in Seoul and Tokyo and half an hour close to Beijing. It was announced last week and was introduced on August 15…
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Lee Hyeonseo on the horrors of North Korea and her escape
North Korean defector Lee Hyeonseo spoke to the Asian American Journalists Association convention in San Francisco on Thursday. Lee is perhaps best-known for her TED talk detailing the amazing story of her escape from North Korea and subsequent life in China as she made her way South Korea. Her autobiography, “The Girl with Seven Names,”…
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Introducing The North Korea Book Store
It sure seems like 2015 is the year of the North Korea book. There have already been a number of high profile autobiographies by defectors and journalists and specialists continue to turn out books that look at the country, its leader and its future. So, to bring all these books together into one place and…
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KCNA Japan site isn’t down, it’s geo-blocked
Sometime in early July, the long-time Japan-based site carrying Korean Central News Agency stories became inaccessible. That was bad news because it carried an archive of KCNA stories going back 18 years and each story had a unique URL, which made it perfect to hyperlinking back to previous articles (There are many KCNA links on North…
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Clocks will go back 30 minutes for Pyongyang Time
North Korea will next week take the unusual step of creating its own time zone by shifting clocks back by 30 minutes. Pyongyang Time is being created by a decree of the Supreme People’s Assembly that was issued on Wednesday but wasn’t reported until Friday by the Korean Central News Agency. The decree said the decision to…
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KCNA parody Twitter account claims another victim
It’s happened again … and it won’t be the last time. The parody DPRK News Service Twitter account has fooled someone and made it onto national television in the U.S. The subject in question was a couple of computer problems that hit United Airlines and the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning. The United…
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New cellular carrier is run by local ISP, says source
The new cellular carrier run by the North Korean government to compete with Koryolink is being run by a local Internet service provider, according to a source in Pyongyang. The ISP, called Byol (?) or Star, is targeting the wireless service at North Koreans. Star currently offers wired Internet connections to foreigners in Pyongyang at a…
