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 >
Samjiyon Android tablet debuts at Pyongyang trade fair
Sep 28th
A North Korean company says it has developed a tablet computer based on Google’s Android operating system, according to reports from the 8th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair currently taking place.
There’s little actual information on the tablet computer, which was shown in photo coverage by the Associated Press and North Korean state TV. It’s made by a company called “Chosun Computer,” which doesn’t appear to have received any previous coverage in western or North Korean media.
You can see the AP photo on The Wall Street Journal’s Korea Realtime blog, which also talks about the computer. The AP didn’t run a story from More >
Pyongyang Maternity Hospital gets advanced Siemens scanners
Sep 28th
If you watch North Korea’s evening news for any number of days, you’ll usually come across medical features that show the inside of hospitals and the pictures are never particularly inspiring. Few modern machines are seen and the medical system certainly doesn’t rely on technology to the same extent as many developed nations.
So it was a bit of a surprise to see two advanced Siemens medical scanners in a report on Wednesday evening’s news. They were both featured in a report on the new breast cancer institute at the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital.
I’m not an expert on medical imaging scanners, but judging from More >
WIPO tech exports didn’t violate rules finds UN committee
Sep 25th
A United Nations committee has concluded the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) technical assistance program didn’t violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
In question were exports of computer equipment by WIPO intended to help North Korea upgrade its patent office IT system. The exports were first reported by Fox News Channel in April, which published internal WIPO documents that showed reservations over the exports were expressed within WIPO.
In a letter to WIPO, Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral, chairman of the UN Security Council Committee, wrote:
Resolution 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009) expressly prohibit the supply, sale or transfer to the DPRK of nuclear, missile More >
Voice of Korea gets an e-mail address
Sep 19th
Voice of Korea, the DPRK’s international shortwave radio service, has started telling its listeners it has an email address.
The radio station opened a web site more than a year ago but never advertised an email address and continued to ask listeners to send messages via postal mail.
Now it says it is accepting emails at vok@star-co.net.kp, according to Arnulf Piontek in Berlin, who supplied a copy of the letter (below).
It says, “The address will help further developing the friendly relations between our broadcast and listeners.”
I tried sending an email to the address but it bounced back with an error “Unknown address More >
More on KCTV’s new-look news
Sep 12th
More video of the new-look evening news on Korea Central Television has emerged and it reveals the 8pm newscast has a new introduction in addition to new set.
Gone is the familiar opening theme replaced by a new theme that is every bit as grand. The opening sequence has also been renewed with more complex computerized graphics.
Here’s a short YouTube video showing the difference. This is in addition to the changes noted last week that took place on the news broadcast’s set.
It’s a small change for sure, but in a country like North Korea where so much effort is put into propaganda More >
KCTV’s evening news gets an update
Sep 10th
North Korea’s main evening news bulletin has gotten a visual refresh. The TV program, which ranks as one of the government’s most important tools in information dissemination — both domestically and internationally — has had a few minor updates over the last year but the most recent refresh is perhaps the biggest.
The paintings that adorned the studio wall behind the presenters have been replaced with a video wall. In a few postings on YouTube, several different backgrounds can be seen.
In the first example, the news reader is sitting in front of a large representation of the globe that slowly turns More >
How satellite helped open up North Korea’s airspace
Aug 27th
Back in 1998 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) improved its network connection into North Korea by linking the country’s air traffic control system via satellite.
The link, via Asiasat 2, was outlined in a presentation that was sent to me soon after. I hadn’t been able to find it for years, but just located a copy in an old email archive. While old and out-of-date, I thought there might be some interest in presenting some of the information here, and providing a bit of history:
Attempts to open up North Korea’s airspace began gathering pace in the mid nineties. Flying over the More >
One IP address for all of PUST
Aug 20th
One of the revelations from a recent interview conducted by Reuters with Park Chan-mo, co-founder of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), is that the entire university connects to the Internet through a single IP address.
IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are the numeric addresses that computers use to route data traffic on the Internet. There are several billion addresses available but North Korea has 1,024 for the entire country — a product of its late arrival on the global computer network.
PUST’s single address doesn’t necessarily mean there is only one computer with Internet access.
Sharing addresses is commonplace worldwide. Most More >
South Korean Defense Ministry steps up DPRK broadcasts
Aug 15th
A radio station believed to be operated by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has strengthened its radio broadcasts to North Korea, according to reports from radio monitors in Japan.
MND Radio added extra shortwave frequencies from August 9 in an apparent attempt to get around the DPRK’s heavy jamming of its signal.
The current schedule for the station’s four programs a day now looks like this (all times in GMT)
MND Radio Schedule
0400-0440 on 5900, 6760kHz – Program 1 0500-0535 on 5150, 6435kHz – Program 2 0600-0650 on 5410, 6700kHz – Program 3 0700-0735 on 5290, 6270kHz – Program 4 1000-1035 on 5150, 6435kHz – Program 2 More >
