Business
More from the Pyongyang trade fair
Sep 29th
Earlier I wrote about a new Android tablet computer called Samjiyon that was on show at the 8th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair. Some of the images came from a KCNA video that also included some other highlights from the fair, including other pieces of technology.
The fair lasted from Monday to Thursday and including, according to KCNA, “more than 210 companies and entities from 10 odd countries and regions, including the DPRK, China, Netherlands and Germany.”
Here’s some screen grabs from the report (click the images for a larger version).
First refrigerators from what appears to be China’s Shangling Electric Appliances. One of More >
Japan indicts two over PC exports to North Korea
Feb 2nd
Japanese prosecutors have indicted two people over alleged exports of personal computers to North Korea, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday.
The two are accused of exporting 8.2 million yen (US$108,000) worth of computers from Japan in violation of the Japanese government’s trade sanctions. Japan has imposed a complete ban on exports to North Korea since June 2009.
The computers were allegedly sent to the Korea Computer Center, the Pyongyang-based computer research center.
An earlier report by Sankei Biz said the computers were shipped in July and December of 2010 under falsified papers that claimed they were heading to Shenyang, China, and Seoul. The shipment contained about More >
Pyongyang mourning at Hana Electronics
Dec 29th
Hana Electronics and the Hana Music Information Center, one of the last places reported to have been visited by Kim Jong Il before his death, was one of the locations used on Thursday to mourn his passing.
State TV pictures showed a crowd that appeared to be at least in the thousands standing outside Kim Il Sung Square in the heart of Pyongyang.
TV pictures showed amazing scenes of tens of thousands of people lined up in the square.
It was during that service that Kim Yong Nam said of Kim Jong Un:
Standing at the helm of the Korean revolution is Kim Jong Un, the successor More >
Koryolink sees another record quarter
Aug 25th
Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G network operator, added a record number of subscribers in the second quarter of 2011, but the company will have to push harder if it’s to reach a million users by the end of the year.
The company ended the quarter with 666,517 subscribers, according to Orascom Telecom. Egypt’s Orascom holds a 75 percent stake in Cheo Technology, which operates the service under the Koryolink brand name. The remaining 25 percent stake is held by the government-owned Korea Posts and Telecommunications Co. (KPTC).
The company added 131,384 subscribers during the April to June quarter, putting the quarter just More >
Kim Jong Il visits ‘LCD TV factory’
Jul 30th
North Korean state media has reported on a visit by Kim Jong Il to the “May 11 Factory,” which it described as “a modern scientific research and production center which researches and develops varieties of electronic goods including liquid crystal display TV sets.”
The KCNA report mentioned the LCD televisions several times and was accompanied with many photos of the TVs, so they appear to be something the North Korean government is proud of. There’s a gallery of stills from the KRT evening news report below.
Look through them and you’ll notice the pictures all appear to show the final stages of assembly More >
Hana Electronics expands
Jul 5th
Hana Electronics, one of the few DPRK-foreign joint venture companies in Pyongyang, has recently expanded the facilities at its headquarters, it said on its home page.
The company is held equally by the commercial arm of North Korea’s Ministry of Culture and Phoenix Commercial Ventures, and was established in 2003. It began manufacturing DVD and Video CD players in 2004, according to the company’s website.
The company began construction work on a headquarters building south of the Taedong River in the same year. The building is located just to the south west of the Tongil Market and Hana Electronics moved into the More >
Kim Jong Il on tour in China
Jun 13th
Kim Jong Il’s tour of China at the end of May saw the North Korean leader take in several high-tech factories and companies.
China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast a comprehensive report on the visit (aired after Kim had left Beijing) and provided details on some of the tour stops.
They included Yangzhou Smart Valley, the country’s Smart Grid Demonstration Center. There Kim got a demonstration of an e-book reader. He also visited Panda Group, a large manufacturer of consumer electronics products, and Beijing Digital China, an IT services company.
Kim Jong Il’s visit to Panda Electronics in Nanjing was caught on camera and 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 >
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 >
