North Korea is an insular country with regards to its Information Technology infrastructure and services. We will explain the history, structure, and recent developments in the DPRK’s information technology networks and services, as well as highlight some of the challenges they pose towards becoming an information society.
Infrastructure: Facts and Figures
In order to contextualize the conditions of North Korea's information infrastructure, comparison on a raw scale is beneficial. To this end, there is no country more worthy of comparison to North Korea than its neighbor South Korea. Consider these statistics:
South Korea | North Korea | |
Population | 48.5 million | 22.6 million |
Telephones | 21+ million | 1.18 million |
Internet Hosts | 291,329 | 3 |
Internet Users | 37.4 million | ~0 |
Cell Phones | 45.6 million | Unknown |
-(CIA Factbook)
North Korea has very few cell phones that can access foreign networks. In 2008, a new cell phone service was installed by the Egyptian company Orascom, but it is very limited, servicing mainly Pyongyang and a few large southern cities (RSF). It is too expensive for most of the population and does not allow international calls.
Even more striking is that technically the DPRK has no Internet users (UN Data). This does not mean that North Korea is completely without computer access, however, as its 400+ km of fiber optic cables might indicate.
“Bright Light”
Instead of proper connectivity to the Internet, North Korea maintains its own Intranet, an internal network that hosts about 30 different websites. The official DPRK website, along with other sites that maintain a nominal presence on the World Wide Web, are actually not hosted on North Korean servers. Instead, the sites’ “home countries” are Germany, China, Japan, and even the state of Texas (OpenNet Initiative). There is generally little physical connection to these countries as well. Kim Jong Il and his inner circle use satellite connection to German servers through Korea Computer Company’s partner company, KCC Europe. Public users relied on slow dial-up modems before the fiber optic network was installed in 2002, via a link to the Chinese network.
The Intranet was founded in 2002, along with the fiber optic network, and was named Kwanmyong, or “Bright Light.” It is run by the Central Information Agency for Science and Technology (CIAST). There are few existing access points to the Intranet, and only Kim Jong Il, his inner circle, and a lucky few elites have their own personal computers. The rest of the population must rely on small businesses that offer computer access, often at exorbitant prices, according to OpenNet Initiative. For example, one such business, the Information Technology Store, charges 20000 won a month for computer classes, which amounts to 7 or 8 times the average monthly wage of DPRK citizens.
At the lone internet café in Pyongyang, access to the World Wide Web is projected to cost about 10USD an hour. Regular users of the Internet service at the café include expatriate staff of various NGOs, foreign embassies’ personnel, and various United Nations Agencies like the World Food Program and UNDP.
Content and Services
In addition to limitations on access, the "Bright Light" intranet offers a limited variety of services, consisting of an email inbox, a few news sites relaying regime propaganda, instant messaging, commerce (Ko, Jang, Lee), government approved entertainment, and a browser providing access to the databank Web pages of the country’s three biggest libraries: the Grand People’s Study House and those of the Kim Il-Sung and Kim Chaek Universities (RSF).
With regard to Web site hosting and management services through China and Japan, North Korea initially limited their sites primarily to news organizations delivering content from government-produced offline media. These include the following larger news media resources:
- Korean Central News Agency of DPRK (www.kcna.co.jp), which disseminates only “positive” news about the country
- Choson Sinbo (www.korea-np.co.jp)
- The People’s Korea (www.korea-np.co.jp)
- DPRKorea Infobank (www.dprkorea.com) –Aaccess to Pyongyang Times
- Naenara (http://www.kcckp.net)- Hosted by Korea Computer Center in Pyongyang
More recently, it seems the North Korean government recognizes the potential economic value, as evidenced by the emergence of some commercial websites:
- January 2002: Chosun Tour (www.dprknta.com)- Launched by the DPRK National Tourism Administration in Japanese with the assistance of the Japan National Tourist Organization.
- April 2002: Arirang www.arirang.dprkorea.com- Launched to attract tourists to North Korea, and also to promote the national mass games, also called Arirang.
- (http://www.chollimagroup.com) - Developed for e-commerce, in English.
- (www.dprkorea-trade.com) -Opened by The North Korean Embassy in Austria to sell North Korean specialties online.
Following @uriminzok
On July 14, 2010, North Korea launched its YouTube channel.
As of October 1, 2010 the channel has:
- 149,097 Channel Views
- 427,438 Total Upload Views
- 1,876 Subscribers
- Content often includes calling the US and South Korea "warmongers"
Less than one month later, in August 2010, North Korea joined Twitter.
As of October 1, 2010 the channel has:
- 13 following
- 10395 Followers
- 727 Listed
- 433 Tweets
- @uriminzok: South Korea is "a prostitute" of the United States
The sites are only in Korean and content includes a lot of propaganda taunting South Korea, denigrating the US, and praising the DPRK's military and "Great Leader." The agency behind the videos and the tweets is part of the ruling communist party*. Both accounts link to the official North Korean Uriminzokkiri website, run by the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
In keeping with the philosophy of Juche ideology, the name "Uriminzokkiri" translates to "on our own, as a nation," and the shortened version "Uriminzok" means "our people" or "our nation."
Ironically, the North Korean population does not have access to these social networking sites within the DPRK, and even if they did, they would not be allowed to use them to express dissent or criticize the regime.
*Note: the government of the DPRK officially denies being directly responsible for the creation and content of the sites. However, the owner of the North Korean Facebook page (now deleted), confirmed to a South Korean news agency that it was run by a Pyongyang-based publishing outlet affiliated with the government.
Below is a clip from ABC News reporting on Internet use in North Korea
Red Star System
- Similar to Microsoft
- Has heavy security
- Comparable to software created ten years ago in other parts of the world
Recent Updates and World Interaction
According to the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), North Korea expressed interest in buying Bulgarian software products, as well as pharmaceuticals, and food products.The BCCI reported to be researching options to visit North Korea and China for business opportunities in the following months.
Obstacles, Challenges, and the Future
Diffusion in developing countries is catalytic, in that once something like the internet is introduced, it is peoples' demand for greater access that leads to growth (Hanson). In this regard, the emergence of black market second-hand consumer electronics is encouraging. Success depends on a constituency like this that creates demand in the DPRK. Unfortunately, it also depends heavily on government policies that encourage and allow content (diversity), and the system in general, to flourish (plurality). In North Korea, the government is caught in a struggle to advance economic objectives, while also containing political consequences that would negatively affect the regime.
Discussion
New media and social-networking sites are considered to encourage participation in the public sphere and be a forum for modern knowledge networks. What do you think of North Korea using them to disseminate misinformation and propaganda?
US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley expressed that the U.S. welcomed North Korea to the social media forums but challenged its authoritarian leaders to allow its citizens full access to the sites. He tweeted: "North Korea has joined Facebook, but will it allow its citizens to belong? What is Facebook without friends?" Can the West and supporters of democracy stop or slow the growth of authoritarian influence on the internet? Should they try? Or do you think North Korea's internet presence, regardless of its nature, is a step in the right direction?
Some defectors and NGO's have said that cell phones hold the most promise for opening North Korea to outside information. Since only a wealthy few would be able to afford them, how might this affect the knowledge gap within the country?
Contributions:
Alejandra Bustamante
Sections: Red Star System, Recent Updates and World Interaction
-Research
Geoff Blizard
Sections: Red Star System, Recent Updates and World Interaction
-Research
Geoff Blizard
Sections: Infrastructure Facts and Figures; Bright Light
-Research and Analysis
-Research and Analysis
Mariam Samsoudine
Sections: Content and Services; Following @uriminzok; Obstacles, Challenges, and the Future; Discussion and Questions
-Research, Analysis, Webmaster, Editing
Sources:
UN Data. http://data.un.org/
CIA World Factbook, North Korea. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
CIA World Factbook, South Korea. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
Kyungmin Ko, Seungkwon Jang and Heejin Lee, “.kp North Korea,” International Development Research Center. http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-127149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
OpenNet Initiative. North Korea Country Profile. http://opennet.net/research/profiles/north-korea
Evgeny Morozov, “Rise of the Online Autocrats,” The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704116004575522072016129094.html
Clark Boyd (PRI’s The World), “North Korea creates Twitter and YouTube presence,” BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11007825
“Internet Enemies: North Korea,” Reporters Without Borders. http://en.rsf.org/internet-enemie-north-korea,36695.html
Lawrence J. Ho, “Recent Developments in the Information Technology Sector in North Korea: an NGO Perspective,” Bytes and Bullets in Korea. http://www.apcss.org/Publications/Edited%20Volumes/BytesAndBullets/CH6.pdf
