KCNA updates its web site
Jan 5th
KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news agency, has relaunched its web site.
The site, which is one of only a handful hosted in Pyongyang, was first launched in late 2010 and has been redesigned a couple of times since it first went online. The new design, which appears to have debuted on January 4, is perhaps the slickest yet from an organization best know for its propaganda output.
The redesign doesn’t appear to have brought with it any new content areas or languages — at least, not yet — but there are a few things worth noting.
The first, and perhaps most striking for More >
South Korea to continue analog TV near border
Dec 27th
Just days away from completing a nationwide switch from analog to digital television, South Korea has announced plans to continue analog TV broadcasting in border areas so that North Koreans don’t lose access to the signals.
Overseas radio and TV broadcasts are about the only free media available to North Koreans, although reception isn’t easy. Officially banned from receiving such transmissions, North Koreans typically have to modify reception equipment and listen or watch in secret.
It’s difficult to know the exact number of people who tune into South Korean broadcasts. The signals don’t reach deep into North Korea, but they are likely More >
Caught on video: North Korea’s satellite
Dec 25th
North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, launched on December 12 but apparently silent ever since, has been captured on video by a South African satellite watcher. [UPDATED: See below]
Greg Roberts posted several video clips on YouTube that show reflections of light from the sides the satellite as it orbits the Earth.
The clips are from December 20th and clearly show the flashes of light. The camera was set on a mount to track the satellite’s path, so the stars in the sky move past in the background. As noted in the videos, the camera has some dead pixels that appear continuously white. Ignore More >
Tracking North Korea’s satellite
Dec 15th
It’s been a few days since North Korea put a satellite into space — a massive technological step for the country and something widely condemned by other countries — but we’re still not much closer to knowing anything about what’s up in space.
It only took a few hours for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Colorado-based U.S. Canadian air early warning organization, to detect three new objects in space coming from the North Korean rocket. NORAD later detected a fourth object.
The objects have been identified as the Kwangmyongsong 3-2 satellite (the second version of the satellite. The first version was More >
Voice of Korea on rocket launch
Dec 13th
North Korea’s international radio broadcaster, the Voice of Korea, carried two items in English on Wednesday announcing the rocket launch.
The first led the news bulletin and was just over two minutes long:
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121212-vok-launch_01.mp3The second, announced over a musical bed, was about 3 minutes long and came at the end of the hour-long broadcast:
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121212-vok-launch_01.mp3Both recordings were from Voice of Korea’s 1500GMT broadcast received via shortwave on 9335kHz.
US Space Command tracking three objects from DPRK launch
Dec 12th
U.S. Space Command is tracking three objects in orbit that apparently came from today’s North Korean rocket launch. The primary object is thought to be the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite.
It’s been given the satellite catalog number 39026 and the international designator 12-072A — both identifications that help keep sorted the catalogs of satellites and junk in orbit around the planet.
Analysis of the current trajectory of the satellite provides some clues as to its launch. If you remember back in April, there was a lot of speculation about whether North Korean planned to have the third stage rocket make a dog-leg maneuver while heading into More >
NORAD says object ‘appeared to achieve orbit’
Dec 12th
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known as NORAD, says it tracked the North Korean rocket launch and that it appears to have placed an object in orbit.
Here’s the statement, issued out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, NORAD said:
North American Aerospace Defense Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of a North Korean missile at 7:49 p.m. EST. The missile was tracked on a southerly azimuth. Initial indications are that the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea. The second stage was assessed to fall into the Philippine Sea. Initial indications More >
North Korean media claims launch success
Dec 12th
North Korea’s state media has claimed success in its attempt to put a satellite in orbit.
Here’s the KCNA bulletin that ran just after noon local time:
The second version of satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 successfully lifted off from the Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province by carrier rocket Unha-3 on Wednesday.
The satellite entered its preset orbit. — KCNA, December 12, 2012.
And here’s the special news broadcast that went out on state TV at just before 12:05pm on Wednesday:
North Korea launches rocket
Dec 12th
So much for delays, technical problems and bad weather. (And so much for satellite imagery analysis!) North Korea launched its rocket on Wednesday morning local time at a little before 10am in the morning, according to reports from regional governments.
The missile was launched from the Sohae-ri launch facility, according to an immediate report from the South Korean government.
The Japanese government said it flew over the Okinawan islands at around 10:01am and a rocket stage fell into the Pacific Ocean off the Philippines a few minutes later.
If right, it appears the rocket followed its planned flight path quite closely. The rocket’s More >
Exclusive: Launch unlikely until December 21; weather challenges ahead
Dec 12th
A NorthKoreaTech/38 North exclusive, with contributions by Nick Hansen and Michelle Kae
New GeoEye satellite imagery from December 10 shows activity at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station (Tongchang-ri) related to the removal of the Unha rocket from the launch pad, a process that is probably still underway and will not be completed before December 12-13 at the earliest. (NorthKoreaTech/38 North believes South Korean press reports that the entire rocket had been removed to the assembly building for repairs as of December 11 were wrong.)
This conclusion is based on a number of considerations. First, imagery taken on December 8 and 10 More >
