63 years of Voice of Korea in English
Nov 6th
North Korea’s English-language broadcasting service marks its 63rd birthday on Thursday, November 6. Broadcast now under the name “Voice of Korea,” the radio station was for decades known as Radio Pyongyang.
Since 1951, it’s broadcast thousands of hours of English-language programming and today remains one of the few international radio stations that still uses shortwave as its primary method of dissemination. The transmitters occupy a huge site that can easily be seen on satellite images.
Listeners can expect to find each daily hour-long broadcast kick-off with the national anthem and the songs of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il then news, music and More >
Sawiris takes charge of Koryolink parent
Nov 5th
Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has taken over as CEO of the parent company of Cheo Technology, which runs North Korea’s Koryolink 3G cellular telephone network.
Sawiris assumed the top job at Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) after the former CEO, Ahmed Abou Doma, stepped down for personal reasons. He had been CEO for less than a month, taking the job on October 1.
Earlier in October, Sawiris made his latest visit to Pyongyang.
He arrived in the North Korean capital on October 12 and left two days later. During his trip, he met with DPRK Premier Pak Pong Ju at Mansudae Assembly Hall and, as is customary, More >
Report: Twitter, Facebook blocked in North Korea
Nov 4th
North Korea has begun blocking access to Twitter and Facebook on domestic Internet connections offered to foreigners, according to a report last week.
If correct, the move is apparently the first active blocking of Internet access by the North Korean government and comes at a time when it appears to be slowly tightening the screws on outflow of information via foreigners and tourists.
The block on the two popular social media sites was first reported by the Pyongyang correspondent of Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency and was later confirmed by NK News.
On the surface, it stops the immediate posting of images and messages on the two More >
North Korean malware hit thousands of phones, says Seoul
Oct 30th
Malicious software disguised as a computer game could have infected around 20,000 smartphones in South Korea, according to South Korean media reports quoting the country’s spy agency.
The games were offered through South Korean sites between May 19 and September 16 this year, the National Intelligence Service said in a report to parliament.
The apps have since been removed and the actual number of phones infected is unclear.
While phones were infected, the software doesn’t appear to have caused any damage but has left the phones vulnerable to eavesdropping and remote video taping, the reports said.
North Korea has often been blamed for cyber attacks on South Korean companies and More >
Voice of Korea schedule for winter 2014/2015
Oct 29th
Voice of Korea, North Korea’s international shortwave broadcasting station, adjusted its transmission schedule on October 26 for the winter 2014 and spring 2015 seasons.
The broadcasts follow the same basic line-up each day.
:00 Opening signal, station identification: “This is Voice of Korea” :01 National Anthem :03 Song of General Kim Il Sung :06 Song of General Kim Jong Il :09 News, editorials (approx 15 minutes, but can be extended to full broadcast), followed by music :30 Reminiscences of Great Leader President Kim Il Sung of the century :40 Music and features :50 Editorial, special message (occasional) :55 Frequency information :57 Close
The More >
Calling comrade Kim: dos and don’ts of using a mobile phone in North Korea
Sep 30th
As mobiles become a must-have for the country’s elite, a cultural magazine has reportedly released some guidance on basic etiquette for the connected classes.
#104634123 / gettyimages.comBy Maeve Shearlaw, The Guardian.
North Korea is not thought of as the most tech-savvy country in the world. The state tightly controls the flow of information into, out of, and within the country, and attempts to make contact with the outside world can even lead to a death sentence.
Yet the increasing popularity of mobile phones has apparently prompted a North Korean cultural magazine to issue guidance on the correct etiquette for answering calls in public.
Around 2.5 million More >
SiliVaccine – North Korea’s anti-virus scanner
Sep 16th
In a country where most computers aren’t connected to the Internet, an anti-virus scanner might not seem like much of a necessity. But since 2002, programmers in the country have been working on SiliVaccine, a home grown anti-virus application that is now in its fourth version.
I was recently sent a current version that runs on Windows XP and here’s what it looks like.
The splash screen for version 4 shows a copyright date of 2002 to 2011, the latter year likely indicating when this version was first published. The version I received had a virus pattern file — the database used More >
North Korea: ‘popular masses enjoy genuine human rights’
Sep 15th
Pyongyang issues 50,000 word report hitting back at international criticism of its human rights record, accusing the west of ‘false and reactionary’ agenda to interfere with state sovereignty.
By Maeve Shearlaw, The Guardian.
North Korea has published a 50,000-word report hitting back at international criticism of restrictions on freedoms in the country and insisting that that its citizens “enjoy genuine human rights”.
In contrast to a United Nations publication issued earlier this year detailing grave atrocities in the country, Pyongyang painted a positive picture of its rights situation, saying the “popular masses” are free from slavery, torture and have the right to enjoy a free More >
North Korea bans WiFi at embassies
Sep 9th
North Korea has banned the use of satellite Internet connections and WiFi networks by foreign embassies and international organizations unless they get government approval.
The switch, which came in mid August, gives credibility to an earlier report that unencrypted wireless networks at embassies were being used by North Korean citizens to gain uncensored access to the Internet.
Foreign missions and aid agencies were notified of the change in policy on August 20 in a communique from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the full text of which was published on Monday by NK News.
In it, the country’s State Radio Regulatory Department said unlicensed WiFi More >
Koryolink subscriptions hit 2.4 million
Sep 8th
Subscriptions to Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G mobile phone network, have just passed the 2.4 million mark, according to the latest figures from the operator.
The figure represents a significant slowdown in growth in the last year over the previous year and points to the first big spurt in subscriptions being over. The carrier might have to start working harder to continue attracting new users.
At the end of June, the network had just over 2.4 million subscribers, according to Orascom Telecom Media and Technology, the Egyptian company that owns 75 percent of the company.
The last time the company announced subscriber data was in May More >
