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Pyongyang’s solar street lamps
New solar-powered street lamps were featured on the main 8pm evening news on North Korean state TV this week. The solar panel and battery combo that powers the lamps was developed by Kim Chaek University of Technology and was introduced by an associate professor at the university named Cho Hyon Ho. From the images, it’s possible…
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KCNA website down? No, it’s still there
If you’ve been looking for the Korea Central News Agency website over the last day or two, you’ve probably been unable to reach it. Most browsers are returning an error message similar to this one in Chrome: “Oops! Google Chrome could not find www.kcna.kp.” But the site is there. An analysis by NorthKoreaTech.org has revealed…
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Activision cuts short North Korea’s space dreams
That didn’t last long. U.S. video game maker Activision has filed a copyright takedown demand with YouTube resulting in the removal of a video that sees a North Korean man dream of reunification, Korean domination of space and the collapse of the United States. Uriminzokkiri is a semi-official North Korean web site based in China. It speaks…
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Schmidt’s Internet message “well received,” says Richardson
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s message on the importance of embracing the Internet was “well received” in Pyongyang, according to Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico. Richardson, writing in The Washington Post on Friday, invited Schmidt to accompany him on a private trip to North Korea in January. During the trip, the delegation met with…
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Great National Unity website launches
North Korea’s newest website, Great National Unity, launched Thursday. The site is supposedly run by Pyongyang Broadcasting Station, the country’s radio station that targets Korean-language speakers in South Korea, Japan and China, and its imminent launch was announced by state radio earlier this week. At first glance, the site appears largely consistent with web design…
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North again ranked second worst for press freedom
File this one under business as usual. North Korea was again ranked second-to-last in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index while South Korea continued to drop down the ranking. The Paris-based press censorship watchdog ranked North Korea as 178th in its survey, just one rank above Eritrea. “Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the head of…
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Pyongyang Broadcasting Station to launch website
Pyongyang Broadcasting Station, North Korea’s Korean-language radio station aimed at nearby countries, is launching a website this week, according to announcements made Tuesday on domestic and international broadcasts. The new website will be called “Grand National Unity” and will be available at www.gnu.rep.kp from February 1st, according to the announcements. That site currently holds a test…
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Google Maps adds data on North Korea
Google’s on a bit of a North Korean kick at the moment. Just weeks after its chairman, Eric Schmidt, made a high-profile visit to Pyongyang, the company has added additional detail about the county to Google Maps. Roads, subway stations, parks and some major monuments and buildings are on the new map, which became available…
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Koryolink international calling rates detailed
Over the weekend a series of stories from Pyongyang reported that visitors to North Korea can now buy SIM cards for the local Koryolink network so they can make international calls while in the country. Thanks to an update from Young Pioneer Tours, which was the first to report on the new service, we now…
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Eric Schmidt on his North Korean visit
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has posted some thoughts on his recent trip to Pyongyang. The comments appeared on his Google Plus page on Saturday, the same day his daughter also posted her impressions of the trip. The executive’s comments won’t provide any big revelations, at least they shouldn’t to readers of this blog. He generally…
