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  • North Korean programmers used a hosted laptop to freelance online, says FBI

    North Korean programmers used a hosted laptop to freelance online, says FBI

    The US and South Korean governments have been increasingly sounding an alarm about the unwitting hiring of North Korean IT workers through online platforms. Court papers unsealed this week detail the lengths to which the IT workers go to disguise their North Korean affiliation. The story begins in August 2019 when the Federal Bureau of…

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  • New Satellite Could Provide Internet Access to North Korea…Someday

    New Satellite Could Provide Internet Access to North Korea…Someday

    A new type of low-orbit satellite capable of connecting directly to smartphones could someday give North Koreans access to the uncensored internet.

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  • Not quite the first live TV broadcast from Pyongyang

    Not quite the first live TV broadcast from Pyongyang

    On Wednesday evening, viewers of Rossiya 1’s “60 минут” (60 Minutes) saw a rare live report from Pyongyang. Reporter Olga Skabeyeva was in the North Korean capital to cover Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s trip to country that began the same day. The trip made Skabeyeva one of the first foreign TV journalists to enter…

  • NHK radio closure might open a new broadcast pathway to North Korea

    NHK radio closure might open a new broadcast pathway to North Korea

    Japan’s public broadcaster is planning to close one of its two national mediumwave radio networks in 2026, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun daily. The newspaper said NHK will announce the plans on October 10. NHK Radio 2 broadcasts educational and cultural programming, including foreign language programs, and is available via a network…

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  • Agricultural Drones in North Korea

    Agricultural Drones in North Korea

    Over the last few years, North Korea appears to have been trying to drive more science and innovation into its agricultural sector. Much of that innovation has occurred at the government’s weather provider, the State Hydrometeorological Administration. The agency now claims to have weather data for every county in North Korea, and accurate data is…

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  • Support for accessing North Korean media polled in South Korea

    Support for accessing North Korean media polled in South Korea

    Just over half of 1,000 South Koreans surveyed support the ability to watch North Korean television, according to an annual survey on reunification matters that was published this week by the Korean Institute for National Unification (KINU). The survey focused on views towards possible nuclear armament by South Korea but included the question of North…

  • North Korea Launches New Civilian Satellite Push

    North Korea Launches New Civilian Satellite Push

    North Korea appears to have launched a broad project to develop civilian satellite technology and will meet quarterly to assess its progress. The project was disclosed last week when state media reported a “regular meeting” of the “Non-permanent Space Science and Technology Committee” (국가비상설우주과학기술위원회) was held at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang on March…

  • North Korea’s Anti-Epidemic Robot

    North Korea’s Anti-Epidemic Robot

    A North Korean company has produced a robot for epidemic prevention. The device is advertised in the latest Foreign Trade magazine and is essentially an Android tablet with attached sensors packaged into a semi-humanoid form. Foreign Trade is a monthly magazine that promotes North Korean companies and overseas trade partnerships. “This autonomous mobile intelligent robot…

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  • Russian citizen charged over exports to North Korea

    Russian citizen charged over exports to North Korea

    The U.S. Government has indicted a Russian citizen over exports of sensitive technology to North Korea. Ilya Balakaev is chief executive officer of Radiotester LLC, a Moscow-based company that repairs radio equipment, and the recently unsealed indictment alleges he exported a handheld gas monitor to North Korea. The charge is alongside a larger scheme to export…

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  • What to make of the “North Korean Life” TikTok channel

    What to make of the “North Korean Life” TikTok channel

    A new social media account purporting to be from North Korea almost certainly isn’t. The “North Korean Life” channel appeared on TikTok over the weekend and quickly amassed 121,000 followers. At the time of writing, it had collected more than 2 million likes and 33 million views. The channel currently has 17 videos and claims…

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