Martyn Williams
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Homepage: http://www.northkoreatech.org
Posts by Martyn Williams
The Pirate Bay says it’s gone to North Korea
Mar 5th
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more bizarre than Dennis Rodman hugging Kim Jong Un, the operators of The Pirate Bay site claimed Monday that they are now running from the North Korean Internet.
The Pirate Bay is one of the Internet’s longest surviving pirate sites. It links to Bit Torrent files of thousands of movies, TV shows, songs and other multimedia and is a major thorn in the side of the commercial content industry. The actual pirated content is located on user machines, but the main website acts as a sort of index to all these bits of More >
DPRK registers satellite with UN
Feb 27th
The DPRK has submitted registration papers for the recently launched Kwangmyongsong 3-2 satellite to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
The papers were dated January 24 but were only made available this week by the Vienna-based organization. They were submitted by the DPRK’s diplomatic mission in the city.
They don’t provide any new information on the satellite, but are an important political step in North Korea’s continued instance that the launch was for peaceful purposes and that it’s abiding by international space conventions.
In this case, the OOSA’s registration convention calls on member states to furnish basic details about the launch More >
Koryolink mobile Internet charges detailed
Feb 25th
Ever since it became known last week that foreigners in Pyongyang would be able to get access to mobile Internet services through Koryolink, the big unanswered question has been ‘how much?’.
We now know, thanks to a report from China’s Xinhua News Agency, and prospective users might not like the answer.
The news agency said a USB modem and SIM card to access the Internet will cost 75 euro and 150 euro (US$100 and $200) respectively, and that’s without data charges.
Data will cost between 150 euro for 2GBs to 400 euro for 10GBs, with an additional 10 euro monthly charge for the SIM More >
Koryolink to give foreigners mobile data
Feb 22nd
Foreigners visiting North Korea should be able to get mobile data service on their cellphones within the coming week, according to a report on Friday.
Koryolink, the country’s only 3G cellphone network, plans to allow visitors to buy mobile Internet when they arrive in the country, the AP said in a report from Pyongyang. The service will launch by March 1, it said.
North Koreans will still be banned from accessing the Internet.
The addition of mobile Internet comes several weeks after North Korea reversed a long-standing policy that banned visitors from bringing cellphones into the country. They were previously taken by customs officials More >
YouTube zaps another Uriminzokkiri video
Feb 21st
Another Uriminzokkiri video has been removed from YouTube for copyright infringement. This time it’s a propaganda video that borrowed its soundtrack from the video game “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.”
The takedown, confirmed by a message when users attempt to access the clip, comes just two weeks after a previous propaganda video was removed after a copyright complaint by Activision. That video used a computer-generated animation clip from Activision’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.”
The latest removal comes after a copyright complaint from ZeniMax Media, a Maryland-based computer game publisher that puts out the game under its Bethesda Software division.
Uriminzokkiri regularly More >
Phoenix regains Sinji brand name
Feb 18th
Phoenix Commercial Ventures, one of North Korea’s few domestic/foreign IT joint ventures, has reacquired rights to the Sinji brand, trademark and associated intellectual property rights, it said Monday.
Sinji was launched in 2005 as a software development company as a 50/50 joint venture with the Korea Committee for the Promotion of External Economic Cooperation (CPEEC), which reports to directly to the Cabinet.
Phoenix sold off its half stake in the business in November 2010 to an unnamed buyer.
With today’s announcement, the Sinji brand and associated rights are back in the hands of Phoenix, although the company isn’t saying what it plans to do with them.
“Phoenix Commercial More >
(Un)Covering North Korea
Feb 14th
Stanford University hosted a fascinating discussion on Monday that looked at the various ways in which the DPRK is covered from overseas.
Called “(Un)Covering North Korea,” it was part of a day-long series of events associated with the awarding of the 2012 Shorenstein Journalism Award to Barbara Demick, Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, author of “Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea” and long-time North Korea watcher.
The discussion begins with Demick talking about her experiences covering the DPRK. She is followed by Susan Chira, assistant managing editor for news at the New York Times and a previous foreign editor at the newspaper, More >
Latest VOK broadcast on nuclear test
Feb 14th
A day after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test, the test was again in the news on Voice of Korea, North Korea’s international shortwave radio station, but it was far from the top story.
The lead item was a booklet published in Mongolia.
“Respected Kim Jong Un’s famous work, the great Kim Il Sung is the eternal leader of our party and our people was published in a booklet in Mongolia,” the announcer read out.
The nuclear test didn’t come until much later in the newscast, following items about an article about Kim Jong Un on a pro-North Korean website in the More >
Voice of Korea on nuclear test
Feb 13th
Here’s how North Korea’s international shortwave radio broadcaster, the Voice of Korea, announced news of the nuclear test in English.
Reception this morning was poor so the audio isn’t very clear. The music in the background isn’t an intended part of the broadcast, but appears to be the remenants of an old broadcast on the tape being used. If magnetic tape isn’t wiped well enough, such images of old recordings can remain in the background.
This was carried as part of the news bulletin.
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/130212-vok-threats1.mp3And here’s a second mention of the nuclearized Korean peninsula. This is slightly longer and was broadcast at the More >
North Korea conducts nuclear test
Feb 12th
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on Tuesday, according to state media. The test involved a “lighter, miniaturized atomic bomb,” reported the Korea Central News Agency.
“The test was conducted in a safe and perfect way on a high level with the use of a smaller and light A-bomb unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power,” the agency said in a brief report. The type of nuclear device was not detailed.
The test came after several weeks of warnings by North Korea, and was strongly condemned by its neighbors.
South Korea condemned it as an “unacceptable threat to regional peace” More >
