Martyn Williams
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Homepage: http://www.northkoreatech.org
Posts by Martyn Williams
North Korean laptop PCs
May 25th
The North Korean state TV evening news recently provided a glimpse at one slice of the country’s PC manufacturing industry. (Update: A similar PC has been spotted in the U.S. Read below)
The report took viewers to the factory and introduced the three computers being made, two of which are laptops and one of which is intended to be used with a television.
The report aired on March 10 and I was intending to write about it on March 11 … then the earthquake struck. I’ve finally had time to do it, and you can read my piece here on PC World: More >
DPRK’s Elderly Care Fund online
May 25th
A website for North Korea’s Elderly Care Fund is now online.
The site, available in Korean and English, introduces the organization and its aims.
The fund was recently established, according to a KCNA report from January this year.
It reported money for the organization will come from “the institution for protecting the aged and those donated by international organizations, charity organizations and overseas compatriots and others.” The new website is already reporting on an €800,000 project with the European Union to help the elderly in the DPRK.
The site also has a photo of what appears to be computer tuition for the elderly. The More >
Koryolink hits half a million 3G subscriptions
May 20th
Are things starting to get tough for Koryolink?
North Korea’s only 3G cellular provider has published its quarterly results and the headline numbers look good.
Subscriptions are at a record 535,133 and quarterly revenue has never been higher at US$25.8 million, but look a little closer and you’ll see the company is having to push harder to get new customers and existing customers are spending less.
Quarterly growth was 103,214 subscriptions, the third highest yet recorded since service began in the final weeks of 2008. That growth made the January to March quarter the first since mid 2009 where quarter-on-quarter growth failed to More >
More details on Star Joint Venture
May 19th
A couple of new details about Star JV, the company now responsible for North Korea’s connection to the global Internet, came to light this week.
They were included in a report from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) about the reassignment of the country’s dot-kp domain to Star JV.
The report reveals the mission of the company and its president:
Proposed Sponsoring Organisation and Contacts
The proposed sponsoring organisation is Star Joint Venture Company, based in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The company is a joint venture between the Korean Post and Telecommunications Corporation, a governmental enterprise; and Loxley Pacific Company Limited. The More >
KP domain switch came after KCC Europe disappeared
May 19th
North Korea’s dot-kp top-level Internet domain was reassigned after the company running it, KCC Europe, ended service and went months without replying to queries from Pyongyang, according to a report released this week.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which oversees country-level domains and the IP address system, switched control of dot-kp from the Korea Computer Center to Star Joint Venture earlier this month. Star JV is the DPRK-Thai company that’s been putting Internet connectivity into Pyongyang.
The story of the domain change and what happened with KCC Europe is covered in a piece I wrote earlier today: North Korea’s Internet domain is More >
Pyongyang Spring Int’l Trade Fair 2011
May 18th
This year’s Spring International Trade Fair is taking place in Pyongyang this week.
As usual, the fair serves as a showcase for domestic products and technology and a place for foreign companies to display their goods and make domestic contacts. This week’s fair has drawn companies from China, Germany, Malaysia, Mongolia, Syria, Switzerland, Singapore, the U.K., Australia, Austria, Italy, Indonesia, France, Poland and Taiwan, reported KCNA.
The event opened on Monday at the Three Revolution Exhibition in the north of the city and drew a number of top-officials. Present on the fair’s opening day included Kang Sok Ju, vice-premier; Ri Ryong Nam, More >
PUST adds 100 students
May 18th
The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology enrolled an additional 100 students at the start of the current academic semester, according to a foundation that supports the school.
The first classes at PUST began in October 2010 with 160 students enrolled, said reports at the time. The latest intake will take the student body to 260 members, assuming none of the initial students has dropped out.
That’s pretty small for a university, but PUST isn’t interesting for the number of students. The school has raised heads because of its unusual backing and plans.
The university is a sister establishment of the Yanbian University of More >
DPRK denies cyber attack on Nonghyup Bank
May 11th
The DPRK has made its first comment on allegations that it was behind a cyber attack on a large South Korean bank and, not surprisingly, has denied any involvement.
Last week South Korean prosecutors said they had found evidence that North Korea was behind the April attack, which brought chaos to the computer system and ATM network of Nonghyup Bank for several days. It was one of the most disruptive cyber attacks to-date on the South Korean financial system.
Prosecutors made the allegations after examining the laptop of an IBM employee working at the bank. The laptop was apparently used as a More >
North last, South falling in press freedom
May 5th
North Korea remains the country with the least press freedom in the world, according to the 2011 Press Freedom index from Washington, D.C., based Freedom House. The news isn’t a surprise to anyone that follows North Korea closely. There is a complete lack of independent media, official media is highly censored, and the government actively blocks foreign media from penetrating the country.
What’s perhaps more interesting is a drop in the rank of neighboring South Korea.
The survey ranks countries on 23 questions, assigning scores that are combined to provide a total. The total runs from 0 (best) to 100 (worst) and countries More >
Dot KP domain assigned to Star
May 3rd
Control of North Korea’s dot-KP Internet top-level domain has been assigned to Star JV, the North Korean-Thai joint venture that’s behind the recent wiring of Pyongyang to the global Internet.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which administers country code domains, updated its database on Monday, May 2, to assign the KP domain to “Star Joint Venture Company.”
This means control for the KP domain now rests with Star JV. Star took control of North Korea’s Internet address space last year and has been building up the North Korean Internet.
Switch of control to Star doesn’t come as a surprise as the company started More >
