-
Possible evidence of DPRK’s February nuclear test detected
A nuclear monitoring station in Japan has recorded what could be the first detection of radioactive noble gases from February’s nuclear test in the DPRK. The station is in Takasaki, about 100 kilometers northwest of Tokyo and about 1,000 kilometers from North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and is operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban…
-
Eric Schmidt and the North Korean Internet dilemma
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has said a little bit more about his January trip to Pyongyang. [Updated: see below] The “private, humanitarian” mission, as Schmidt termed it, surprised many and saw him turn up in Pyongyang with his daughter Sophie Schmidt, Jared Cohen, head of the Google Ideas think tank, former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Kun “Tony”…
-
Thousands more DPRK-related website account details published
The personal details of thousands of users of three North Korean-related websites have been published by hackers. The details include names, email addresses, user names and in some cases addresses and phone numbers of people to the three sites: the Japan-based Choson Sinbo (????, ????) newspaper, the China-based Ryomyong (??) site and the U.S.-based Korea American National Coordinating…
-
KCTV gets more connected
Korean Central Television, the DPRK’s main nationwide TV channel, appears to have received another technology upgrade. New satellite images uploaded to Google Earth show four satellite dishes on the roof of a building at the TV and radio broadcasting center. They weren’t there a few months ago. It’s interesting because previously the TV and radio…
-
Hackers leak more user details
A fresh batch of user names and personal details of people subscribing to North Korean-related websites has been published by hackers. They are the result of weekend attacks on the websites minjok.com and paekdu-hanna.com, two U.S.-based websites. Links to the information were posted on Twitter by accounts associated with the loosely coordinated hacker group “Anonymous.”…
-
DPRK protests results of hacking probe
The DPRK is loudly protesting the preliminary results of a South Korean investigation that found it was behind widespread computer disruption that hit several TV stations and banks on March 20. [Updated, see below.] The computer attacks wiped clean the hard disk drives of around 48,000 personal computers and servers inside broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN, and the…
-
US wants VOA, RFA transmitter in South Korea
The organization that runs America’s international broadcasting services wants to build a transmitter in South Korea to give Voice of America and Radio Free Asia a better signal into the DPRK. The Broadcasting Board of Governors disclosed the plan in its annual budget request, which was published on Wednesday. The plan, if realized, could mean…
-
South fingers North in March cyberattacks
South Korea’s government has concluded the March 20 cyberattacks that hit three of the country’s TV broadcasters and three of its banks were launched by attackers linked to the North Korean government. The attacks began at 2pm local time on March 20 and caused the complete deletion of data on hard disk drives in roughly…
-
Medicine database developed at Pyongyang Medical College Hospital
Pyongyang Medical College Hospital at Kim Il Sung University has developed a database of thousands of drugs, according to North Korean TV and radio reports. The “clinical medicine information service system” contains details on 12,000 pharmaceuticals and 154,000 kinds of medicines from more than 50 countries, according to a report carried by Voice of Korea.…
-
Summer radio broadcasts to DPRK
The various public and private radio stations that aim broadcasts at North Korea have just refreshed their broadcast schedules for the summer season. In addition to the publicly-funded outlets, there are several private stations. Their editorial balance at the stations differ although none are pro-regime stations. Some are jammed by North Korea making reception difficult —…
